mindful

DIGITAL SAMPLERView selected pages from Mindfuls April 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org

2 mindful April 2014

contents

PHOT

OGR

APHS

BY LE

VER RU

KHIN (T

OP) AND B

ATRICE

PELTR

E (OPP

OSITE PA

GE). ILLU

STRA

TIONS

BY LU

KE BES

T (BOT

TOM) A

ND MAL

IN ROS

ENQV

IST (OPP

OSITE PA

GE).

34

Features 34 The Captain Steers the ShipWhat children need, says parenting expert Susan Stiffelman, is the security of knowing that someone capable and loving is nearby to help them pilot their way through life. And the difference that can makeeven when it comes to the little thingswill amaze you.

Sidebar: A handy guide to figuring out whos in charge in your household. p. 38

51

42 How to Meditate: Start HereLots of us think about trying mindfulness meditation, but it can be hard to know where to begin. Well show you how to start, feel better, reduce your stress, and enjoy your life a little more.

Q&A: Sandra Oh: The Joy of Being Mindful. p. 51

52 A Kinder, Gentler WorldIs compassion something we only have so much of? Or can we be trained to love more people more of the time? Jennifer Campbell reports.

Sidebars: Sociologist Christine Carter shares her kindness rules; Googles Chade-Meng Tan offers a 10-minute exercise to help shift perspective. pp. 57, 58

60 Finding My WayWhen all of our lives are so similar and yet so different, where can we look for guidance? As Jessica Morey has learnedand what she now teaches to teenagersthe best guidance is discovered in ourselves.

First installment of our new Getting Started series

Mindfulness meditation gives us a time to suspend judgment and unleash our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind. From What is Mindfulness? p. 44

April 2014 mindful 3

On our coverActor Sandra Oh shares her experience of mindfulness meditation. page 51

Photograph by Lever Rukhin

Departments

65 In Practice

66 TechniquesEat, Drink, Be Mindful Eating mindfully isnt about resistance or restriction. Its about enjoying more.

67 At WorkHow Do I Get Noticed Around Here?How to run a meeting and keep everyones attention; how to help your boss see the value of a particular employee.

68 Ask Ms. MindfulDont judge parenting styleslend a hand instead; be more relaxed on a first date; and enjoy sex even when youre out of your depth.

70 InsightA Higher EducationWere learning every minute, says Mirabai Bush. Taking more time with everyday details makes each situation a chance for discovery.

4 Your ThoughtsReaders write, tweet, post.

6 Our ThoughtsEditor-in-chief Barry Boyce looks ahead as Mindful begins its second year.

11 NowNews from business, technology, education, neuroscience, and psychology, including a roundup of current research.

20 Bookmark ThisThe writings, recordings, and apps that are capturing our attention now.

22 Mindful/MindlessCookie Monster learns to say no and Axe Body Spray clears out a grade school. Our take on whos paying attention and whos not.

24 Body MindWeightlessElla Ackley decided at 65 that it was time to get back in the pool. But winning national swim meets? She didnt see that coming.

26 Mind ScienceYou Are Where You LiveHow did you end up living where you do? Is it all an accident? Likely not. Sharon Begley points to new research that suggests we live in places that fit our personality.

30 Mindful EatingChopping Away DistractionIn the course of making leek-and-potato soup, Andrea Miller finds that ingredientsno matter how humble sing when they get her full attention.Recipes by Batrice Peltre

80 MindSpaceGuest illustrator Lisa Congdon meditated for 15 minutes. Heres what she found.

30

70


your thoughts

To learn about future issues and upcoming events, sign up for our email newsletters at mindful.org. To share your feedback on this or other issues, email us with your full name, city, and state or province at [email protected]. You can also visit facebook.com/mindfulorg or tweet us @MindfulOnline. For subscription questions, email [email protected]. Letters chosen for publication may be edited for length and clarity. All submissions and manuscripts become the property of The Foundation for a Mindful Society.

you answeredWhat are some of the ways you consider mindfulness related to money?

I posed a nothing new in November challenge for myself. Being mindful helped when I saw a desirable object that I might normally treat myself with. Janine HillsWarwick, Queensland

I find I dont need much. I pause when I have an impulse to buy something. And often, I just enjoy the feeling of plea-sure in fine craftsmanship or artistry without carrying anything home from the store.J.D. ElderNew York City, New York

Though money is a means of feeding, clothing, and hous-ing, some think it defines our worth. NOT!Diane Baldree LancasterVirginia Beach, Virginia

connect

you asked

ILLU

STRA

TION BY

JASO

N LE

E / P

HOTO

GRAP

H BY

ELIZA

BETH

GRIFF

IN

you wrote inIt was difficult not to cry while reading, A Matter of Death and Life (February 2014). I get chills just thinking about how these lessons will be carried forward in the lives of the teens who participated in the hos-pice class. Thank you to those wise people and young people who took the chance to connect and foster healing in each other.Heather H. LospinosoLebanon Borough, New Jersey

Instead, we befriend ourselves as we are. We learn how to drop in on ourselves, visit, and hang out in awareness. Beau-tiful words. Jon Kabat-Zinn never ceases to amaze me (No Blueprint, Just Love, February 2014). Maryellen CharbonneauMcFarland, Wisconsin

Wow, I cant even imagine how much dif-ferent life would have been as a teen trying to navigate the social media sphere! Just as Tristan Gorrindo (W.A.I.T. a Minute, December 2013) talks about part of the problem stemming from parents being hesitant to learn how to use the Internet, I have definitely found it easier to keep an eye on my kids by being online myself. That way, I can watch from the sidelines and not really interfere. You have to be the safe zone if you want them to feel comfort-able talking to you.Samantha Studebaker-Carl Columbus, Georgia

Great thoughts on mindfulness and Star Wars from Jeremy Adam Smith (Luke, Im Your Dad, December 2013). I have two daughters, and in the last year we have watched a lot of movies from Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, as well as Star Wars. The overriding theme in all of these films is that the world is out of bal-ance, and it is up to the hero to restore it. In Star Wars, the destruction of the Death Star does not represent the triumph of good versus evil but instead a restoration of balance between the two. This balance is restored via mindfulness, as you so aptly point out.Michael GalinskyChapel Hill, North Carolina

A: Its tempting to think that being mindful equates with floating along in a peaceful cloud spreading beams of joy and light wherever you go. Not quite. Humans dis-agree. Humans have a lot of passion. The two of these can and do come together. If you find yourself in the middle of an argu-ment that gets heated, its helpful to let the heat heighten your awareness rather than diminish it. Notice whats going on in your body and mind as momentum builds. Leave gaps. Listen. And resist the temptation to demonize and stray into meanness. If that occurs, note it, let it go, and move on. The aftermath can be quite rewarding. Lots of great things come from heat.

Q: Can you have a heated argument and still remain mindful?CHRIS WATSON New York City

VOLUME TWO, NUMBER 1, Mindful (ISSN 2169-5733, USPS 010-500) is published bimonthly for $29.95 per year USA, $39.95 Canada & 49.95 (US) international, by The Foundation for a Mindful Society, 1776 I St, NW, #90046, Washington, DC 20006 USA. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mindful, PO Box 469018, Escondido, CA 92046. CANADIAN POSTMASTER: Send undeliverable copies to Mindful, 1660 Hollis St, Suite 701, Halifax, NS B3J 1V7 CANADA. Printed in U.S.A. 2014 Foundation for a Mindful Society. All rights reserved.

Ian Podniesinski, 8, reading the February 2014 issue of Mindful.

Can you have an argument and still remain mindful?


Barry BoyceEditor-in-Chief

Jessica von Handorf Art Director

Carsten Knox Associate Editor

Stephany TlalkaAssistant Editor, Digital

James GimianPublisher

Alan Brush Associate Publisher, Circulation

Melvin McLeodEditorial Director

Board of Advisors

Susan Bauer-Wu, Ph.D., R.N., University of VirginiaJeffrey Brantley, M.D., Duke Integrative MedicineMirabai Bush, Center for Contemplative Mind in SocietyRichard J. Davidson, Ph.D., Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-MadisonRich Fernandez, Ph.D., Founder, Wisdom LabsSoren Gordhamer, Wisdom 2.0Patricia Jennings, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State UniversityJon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and SocietyTim Ryan, United States Congress, Ohio, 13th DistrictDiana Winston, Mindful Awareness Research Center, UCLAOrganizations included for identification purposes only.

Tracy Picha Editor

Megumi Yoshida Associate Art Director

Jane Doucet Copy Editor

Beth WallaceAssociate Publisher, Advertising & Partnerships

Andrew KarrFinance Director

Daniel Scott Publishing Office Associate

www.mindful.org

Advertising InquiriesMary Beth Gaik, Peace Media 312-656-9260 [email protected]

Customer ServiceSubscriptions: Toll free: [email protected] inquiries: 732-946-0112

Moving? Notify us six weeks in advance. We cannot be responsible for issues the post office does not forward.

On occasion, we make our subscriber names and addresses available to select organizations we feel will be of interest to our readers. If you would prefer that your name and mailing address not be used in this way, contact us at our addresses listed right.

The Foundation for a Mindful SocietyAn independent, nonprofit corporation. Publishers of Mindful and Mindful.org.

1776 I Street, NW, 9th Floor Washington, DC 20006 USA

Editorial & Central Business Office1660 Hollis Street, Suite 703 Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 1V7 Canada [email protected]

We wish to thank our partner, the Hemera Foundation, without whose ongoing strategic guidance, expertise, and generous support the Mindful initiative would not be possible.


our thoughts

What do a policeman, a congressman, a new mother, a clothing designer, and a microbiologist have in com-mon? Theyre all mindfuland all on the cover of Mindful in our first year.

Theres a message there: being mindful is not about being any particular type of person. There is no meditative personality. Our ability to be aware and caring is a funda-mental characteristic of being a human being, and it can be cultivated.

At Mindful and Mindful.org, we didnt invent this message. Were here to pass it on. Based on the results of our first year, it seems a growing number of people are interested in hearing and sharing stories of mindfulness in action, and in getting sound advice on how to enrich their lives with more mindfulness.

Mindful readers envision a more attentive and car-ing world. But they are also practical. Lofty visions are never realized when our feet are not touching the ground. No activity, in our view, is more practical and grounding than mindfulness meditation. Thats why this year, were launching a six-part series called Getting Started. It will serve as a primer for anyone who wants to start mixing mindfulness practice with everyday life. If youre new to mindfulness, it will indeed help you get started. If youre familiar with mindfulness, it will serve as a reminder, and as something you can share with friends or family.

May you enjoy Mindful as much as we enjoy putting it out there for you. And please con-tinue to let us know what being mindful means in your life.

Starting Again

Barry Boyce, [email protected]


now

ContentsNews 12Research Roundup 19Bookmark This 20MindfulMindless 22

Photograph by Batrice Peltre

News and Reviews from the Mindful World

Esther Sternberg advises a number of federal government and green-building committees, as well as the American Institute of Architects. These organizations are rushing to add human health and well-being standards to their requirements. Its going to change the landscape of health.

END YOUR WORKDAY a few minutes early. Sit and recall someone who did something you appreciate. Let the warm feeling infect your evening. Find more on Twitter @mindinterrupter

Exploring the Next Health FrontierWe need to improve the physical environmentthe buildings and spaces we inhabitto enhance health. Its the next frontier.

This is Esther Sternbergs current agenda, as laid out in her book Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-Being. She is a professor of medicine and the research director at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Sternbergs more than 30 years of mindbody research has established, among other things, a direct correlation between emotions and health. Her work has demonstrated that positive emotions enhance health, while negative emotions and stress contribute to and exacerbate illness. She became interested in the con-nection between the brain and the immune system when she was studying rheumatol-ogy at McGill Universitys medical school. After finishing her studies, she did research at the National Institutes of Health on how reducing stress levels not only supports health but can also slow the aging process.

When you can prove and understand the mechanisms and pathways of how the brain and the immune system talk to each

other in rats, says Sternberg, and when you can prove that when this communica-tion is broken you get disease and when its intact you have health, this supports the idea that stress can make you sick.

Sternberg, along with her colleagues in integrative medicine, have found that prac-tices such as meditation and yoga, which have long offered anecdotal evidence of benefits, could now be validated through rigorous science. We call it integrative medicine, rather than complementary or alternative, she says, because its not about using treatments that complement or offer alternatives. Our aim is to integrate ancient practices into modern therapeutic practice to promote genuine healing.

Have we come back to fully under-standing these ancient principles, which people have known for thousands of years, in the language of science? asks Stern-berg. The answer is, yes we have.

Of her latest initiative, she says, We also know that physical environment can very powerfully affect emotions. Therefore, changes in the physical environment also impact the mindbody connection.

At the University of Arizona, Stern-berg founded the Institute for Place and

Wellbeing, which fosters links between the colleges of medicine, architecture, and the environment. This is incredibly excit-ing, she says, because were develop-ing ways to understand how much our environmentwhether its office buildings, schools, urban spaces, or the natural envi-ronment here in the desertcan impact healing. Research shows that hospital patients who are exposed to natural sur-roundings heal faster. This understanding is having a big impact on how buildings, especially hospitals, are being planned.

We need to change the standards for building and urban design, says Stern-berg, who advises a number of federal government and green-building commit-tees, as well as the American Institute of Architects. This year, all these organiza-tions are rushing to add human health and well-being standards to their require-ments. Its going to change the landscape of health.

Currently, the Institute of Place and Wellbeing is working with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Wash-ington, D.C., to reclaim part of a local park as a sanctuary for wounded military per-sonnel and veterans. The park will be used to study the effect that spending time in natural settings has on healing. Sternberg has even met with the Pope to discuss how Roman Catholic-affiliated hospitalsthere are 120,000 worldwidecan become bet-ter places for healing.

Its amazing how these principles are being accepted on a global scale, she says. Were talking about working with organizations as different as the Depart-ment of Defense and the Vatican, and everything in between.

We know that a physical environment can very powerfully

affect emotions. Therefore, changes in our environments also impact the mindbody

connection.

Esther Sternberg


now

PHOT

OGR

APH BY

MICHE

LLE BU

RLEY

PHO

TOGR

APHY

Read the rest of this article in Mindfuls April 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org

body mind

Name: Ella Ackley Age: 71 Activity: Swimming Location: Troy, Montana

WeightlessElla Ackley decided at 65 that it was time to get back in the pool. As expected, floating freely still feels great. Winning national swim meets? That comes as a surprise. As told to Carsten Knox Photograph by Woods Wheatcroft


I swam as a kid but took it up again more seriously about six years ago. Ive run marathons, which put me in good cardiovascular shape and made it kind of an easy switch to swimming. Now I travel to swim meets all across the country.

Being back in the water turned out to be very satisfying. When the grandkids and I go to a hot springs or some other place to take a dip for fun, I can just playdiving under, holding my breath. I love being underwaterits the most wonderful feeling.

What do I like most about swimming? The weightlessness.

Good TechniqueWhen it comes to swimming, the number one thing is technique. When I took it up again, my technique was outdated. Now I know much better what Im doing. When I first get in the pool I wear a snorkel, so I can see and focus on my body position before I start thinking about my breathing. When I push off the wall, I make sure my arms are stretched

out in front of my head and my body is in a totally neutral streamlined position, so I go through the water with as little resistance as possible.

I check my head to make sure its in the right position, with forehead down and chin tucked. I start with arm strokes, and when my arm is above my head and entering the water, I make sure its bent at the elbow, with an emphasis on the palm of my hand, pulling and rotating at the same time and pushing all the way back to my thigh.

FocusI can only think about one thing at a time. My brain just cant do more than that. Ive never thought multitasking was a very good idea. Im intense, so I can focus. When I was studying in college, there could be a party going on behind me and I wouldnt even know it was there.

I like competition, but I dont have a killer instinct. I love doing well against the clock, and I get great satisfaction beating my best time. But I dont have

that Im going to beat you if it kills me thing that an Olympic gold medalist like Michael Phelps has.

I love practicing and improving my ability to move through the water. The women I compete againstholy moly!theyre fantastic. But I havent peaked yet.

CompetitionI was competing in Cleveland in August and there were two swimmers in my age group who are really good. I thought if I did a pretty good time in the backstroke, Id probably get third place. Id be happy with that.

So I just went for it. And when I touched the wall and looked up at the board, it said first place. I thought, thats got to be a mistake!

The other two were swimming lanes away from me. They couldnt see me and I couldnt see them. I had whizzed by them and they didnt know it, and neither did I. Its the first time I took first place in a major meet.


Recipes and photographs by Batrice Peltre. Find more of her work at latartinegourmande.com

Dont Fear the PotatoAn average (about 5.3 ounces) potato with the skin contains:

45% of the daily value for vitamin C 620 mg potassium, comparable to bananas and spinach

trace amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, folate and magnesium

all for only 110 calories and no fatSource: potatoes.com/nutrition


In the course of making leek-and-potato soup, Andrea Miller finds that ingredientsno matter how humblesing when they get her full attention.

Whether Im making a new recipe or whipping up an old standby, I always begin with the same first step. And I dont mean getting out the cutting board or preheating the oven or even washing my hands. All that comes later.

For me, step one is dialing a friends number or tuning into a podcast. That is to say, I never just cook. Steaming, bak-ing, fryingtheyre all opportunities for me to do something else simultaneously.

Last month, I was preparing a meal while on the phone with a friend who was telling me about mindful cooking cooking without distraction. It sounded like drudgery, like it would be lonely and dull. Yet there was something about the idea I couldnt shake. So when I got my hands on the leek-and-potato soup recipe (see page 33), I decided to experiment.

Chopping Away DistractionThis time my first step was different.

I inhaled and exhaled until I wasnt in a hurry. Only then did I take the leeks out of the fridge. They felt cold. And also firm. It was like they were small onion-scented trees. I stripped off the outer layers, trimmed the ragged tops, and chopped. Traces of dirt were hidden in the green crevices, and this reminded me of where the leeks had come from and all the people whod helped get them from the farm to my kitchen.

Next, I selected three potatoes. The bag said red in big rosy letters, but holding one of the tubers up to the light, I decided it was closer to fuchsia. Peeling the skins, I liked how the flamboyant color looked against the creamy flesh.

Meanwhile, I had two tablespoons of butter sizzling on the stovetop, and within five minutes the leeks were softening and shrinking. I cubed the naked potatoes and added them to the pot. Then the stock. The coriander stems. The bay leaves. And since I was paying attention, I noticed that my bay leaves did not actually smell like bay leaves. Having been too long in my spice cupboard, they smelled like curry and

cardamom. I made a mental note to replace various small fragrant bags.

After pureeing the soup and stirring in the crme frache, I ladled generous portions into two bowls and topped them with crumbled blue cheese. So far, the colors were subtlethe soups pale yellow-green and the cheeses white and slate gray. But with the addition of freshly grated red peppercorns and bright-green cilantro, everything sud-denly popped.

Leaning in to smell the soup, I picked up the dominant scent of pepper. Nice. Bringing a spoonful to my mouth, I enjoyed the full complexity of the flavors. This was comfort food brought to its edge with the punch of a sharp cheese.

As my husband and I sat down for lunch with steaming bowls of soup, I realized that cooking without distrac-tion hadnt left me bored or tired. Quite the contrary.

That evening, when it was time to make dinner, I didnt pick up the phone.

Serves 4

32 small new potatoes or fingerlings

1 cups Greek-style yogurt1 tbsp lemon juice1 shallot (or red onion),

finely chopped2 tbsp chopped chives Dash of ground cumin Sea salt and pepper2 tbsp olive oil + more to drizzle

Potatoes with Yogurt Sauce and Fresh Herbs

In a pot, add the potatoes and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are cooked, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool before peeling them; set aside.

In a small bowl, beat together the yogurt, lemon juice, shallot, chives, and ground cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the olive oil. Serve the potatoes whole or halved, lukewarm, with the yogurt sauce and a drizzle of olive oil.

Andrea Miller is the editor of the anthology Right Here with You: Bringing Mindful Awareness into Our Relationships.

mindful eating


Sandra Oh on the joy of being mindful

(see page 51)


getting started: how to meditate

Lots of us think about trying mindfulness meditation, but it can be hard to know where to begin. In this first installment of our new Getting Started series, well show you how to

start meditating, feel better, reduce your stress, and enjoy your life a little more.

Photographs by Lever RukhinIllustrations by Jason Lee

HOW TO MEDITATE and why

THE MINDFULNESS REVOLUTIONEdited by Barry BoyceMore than 40 short pieces by as many authors who present how mindfulness works and how theyve put it into practice in their lives and livelihood.


getting started: how to meditate

Mindfulness. Its a pretty straightfor-ward word. It suggests that the mind is fully attending to whats happening, to what youre doing, to the space youre moving through. That might seem trivial, except for the annoying fact that we so often veer from the matter at hand. Our mind takes flight, we lose touch with our body, and pretty soon were engrossed in obsessive thoughts about something that just happened or fretting about the future. And that makes us anxious.

Yet no matter how far we drift away, mindfulness is right there to snap us back to where we are and what were doing and feeling.

If you want to know what mindfulness is, its best to try it for a while. Since its hard to nail down in words, you will find slight variations in the meaning in books, websites, audio, and video. Heres an all-purpose definition that treats mind-fulness as a quality that every human being already possesses, rather than something we have to conjure up.

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we

What is Mindfulness?

are and what were doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by whats going on around us.

While mindfulness is innate, it can be cultivated through proven techniques, particularly seated, walking, standing, and moving meditation (its also possible lying down but often leads to sleep); short pauses we insert into everyday life; and merging meditation practice with other activities, such as yoga or sports.

When we meditate it doesnt help to fixate on the benefits, but rather to just do the practice, and yet there are benefits or no one would do it. When were mindful, we reduce stress, enhance performance, gain insight and aware-ness through observing our own mind, and increase our attention to others well-being.

Mindfulness meditation gives us a time in our lives when we can suspend judgment and unleash our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind, approaching our experience with warmth and kindnessto ourselves and others.

We hear the word a lot these days. 2014 has even been called The Year of Mindful Living. What exactly are people talking about?

OVERHEARD

Mindfulnessour capacity to pay atten-tion, moment to moment, on purposeis an immediately accessible ally.

Saki Santorelli, executive director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society

FULL CATASTROPHE LIVINGBy Jon Kabat-ZinnFrom explanations of the bene-fits of mindfulness to stories of those who started practicing in midlife to how-tos, this book comes from the founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction himself.

REAL HAPPINESS: THE POWER OF MEDITATIONBy Sharon SalzbergA 28-day program of guided instruction in three key skills for living: concentration, mindfulness, and compassion. An accompanying audio CD contains guided meditations.

Books to Get You Started

Getting Started was compiled by Barry Boyce, editor-in-chief of Mindful, in consultation with:

Elisha Goldstein Ph.D., psychologist, author of The Now Effect

Tara Healey program director for Mindfulness-Based Learning at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

Steve Flowers director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic at the Enloe Medical Center in Chico, California

Christiane Wolf MD, Ph.D., director of MBSR Programs, InsightLA


1

Sounds Boring!

Sure, but it also happens to be a big relief to have some time when youre not obligated to be somebody or do something.

5

My Mind Is Too Fast

So, let it go fast. If you sit there awhile, it will slow downand speed up again. You dont need to try to find an ideal rate for your mind.

2

I Cant Sit Still

Its just fine to fidget. Meditation is a process that develops over time. No one starts out sitting like a rock statue.

4

Im Scared to Be Alone

Youre not alone in that. Our culture has devalued taking time for solitude. It hasnt always been that way. And its not as scary as you think.

3

I Dont Have Time

Time crunches are stressing us all out these days. But tak-ing a pause from the rush-rush-rush may just help you use your time better.

5 Excuses Not to MeditateYou want to spend some quiet time with your mind, but you have excuses. Take a moment to examine them. They might not be such a big deal.

1

Understand Your Pain

Mental pain and anxiety are a background noise that can underlie much of what we do. Heres a chance to see firsthand whats causing it.

5

Reduce Brain Chatter

The nattering, chattering voice in our head seems never to leave us alone. Isnt it time we gave it a little break?

2

Lower Stress

Theres lots of evi-dence these days that excess stress causes lots of ill-nesses and makes other illnesses worse. Mindfulness decreases stress.

4

Improve Focus

It can be frustrating to have our mind stray off what were doing and be pulled in six directions. Meditation hones our innate ability to focus.

3

Connect Better

Ever find yourself staring blankly at a friend, lover, child, and youve no idea what theyre say-ing? Mindfulness helps you give them your full attention.

5 Reasons to Give It a Try AnywayWe can easily find excuses about why we cant meditate, but it turns out its just as easy to find lots of reasons to do it. Here are just a few.


A Kinder,Gentler World

By Jennifer CampbellIllustrations by Julia Rothman

Can We Learn to Be More Compassionate?

compassion

April 2014 mindful 53Read the rest of this article in Mindfuls

April 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org

A Higher EducationEvery minute of our lives serves up something new and gives us an opportunity to learn. But when it comes to the usual ways of learningreading, writing, and listening to otherswe often lose the freshness of direct experience and instead just shovel information into our brains. Mirabai Bush suggests how to learn more deeply and with more enjoyment.

in practice insight

April 2014 mindful 71Illustrations by Malin Rosenqvist Read the rest of this article in Mindfuls April 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org

When you subscribe to Mindful, you will: Discover practical, effective tools for everyday living

Learn about the latest brain science and the many ways mindfulness is changing our society

Enjoy better health and relief from stress

Improve your performance and capacity at work

Deepen the relationships in your life

Be inspired by stories of other mindful people like you

Mindful is the groundbreaking new magazine dedicated to helping you live mindfully.

Its who you are

Dont miss the next great issue of Mindful. Mail the attached card or call toll-free 1-855-492-1675. Subscribe online at www.mindful.org.

You want the best for your family and friends. You enjoy work that is meaningful and satisfying. Youre dedicated to a more caring and sustainable society. You know

the simple practice of being in the moment brings out the best in who you are.

You are mindful. And this is your magazine.

SubscribeNow

mindful.org1-855-492-1675

mindful

Documents

mindful eating

org2 mindful

new research

everyones attention

malin rosenqvist opposite

batrice peltre opposite

teenagersthe best guidance

lever rukhindepartments65