How we REACT to the many obstacles or challenges life brings to our doorstep determines our quality of life. And, our quality of life is determined by how we process and react to these inevitable hurdles.

A Mindfulness Meditation practice creates change; but, not the kind of change one might put into their piggy bank. We’re talking about life-altering change where old restrictive thought patterns turn into a kaleidoscopic pattern of positive and productive changes.

We need to “serve notice” to friends (and others) that through sharing their internal struggles with friends and/or professionals, they can transcend their emotional suffering. Sharing our joys are easy. Sharing our challenges-not so much.

Many of my students struggle with the discipline or desire to practice on a daily basis. Some can practice once a day with regularity, but have difficulty practicing twice daily. Some practice just a few days a week. Beyond that, it becomes a challenging endeavor.

This 2020 holiday season is unlike most we have ever experienced. Gift giving, joy and well wishes usually dominate this season. But this year, we need to summon up and use a particular gift that each of us already possess.

The other day someone told me that” one should never discuss politics with family members” when you know they hold different opinions. I understand their perspective; however, as a practitioner of Mindfulness, I see things differently.

In living a “mindfulness” lifestyle, we adopt new habits of the mind. We learn awareness. We learn not to listen nor react to all the thoughts racing through our minds. We learn to become nonjudgmental of our thoughts, ourselves and others.

We are indeed faced with many new challenges these days. Learning to cope with all of these unsolicited changes in our lives and their domino consequences is of paramount importance to our emotional and physical health.

If you lived in a childhood such as mine, these words were expressed to me quite frequently by a parent, a teacher, or even a stranger. Those words now have such a different meaning. Now I have come full circle as I teach my Mindfulness-Meditation students about the importance of stillness and of silence...to sit still!

Grief from the physical death of a loved one, friend or acquaintance is something we all have either experienced or understand. However, grief comes in many forms and always constitutes a loss of one kind or another.

During this time in our lives, it behooves us to hold in awe all of our fellow citizens who have placed their own lives at risk for the well-being of others, for their courage, sacrifice, resilience and unselfish gestures of kindness.

Experts have recommended several prophylactic measures we can take to ward-off this virus such as handwashing, social distancing, refrain from handshaking, covering sneezing and coughing, etc.

If your days are filled with emotional perpetrators such as stress or anxiety, depression or low self-esteem, worry or other such suffering, then blame your thoughts. It’s never the situation we are in nor can we blame others for our state of mind.

Once upon a long, long time ago when I was a college student, a few friends and I went to visit a Fortune Teller/Psychic who lived in a trailer just outside Hagerstown, Maryland.  As I curiously looked into her froglike bulging eyes, she told me 3 things that affected my future reactions…

This is flu and cold season. Lately I have observed how individuals respond when they are asked how they are feeling.  

Take a jar. Fill it with water. Add a scoop of dirt.  Fasten the lid.  Shake the bottle. After a few shakes, place the jar on a table.  Allow it to sit in stillness.  What happens?  The mud settles to the bottom and clarity rises to the top.

Neuroscience has also established that these thoughts (messages) we send to our brains are then delivered to our whole body. What the mind does, the body does!

When  I am asked about it or when we read about the many benefits of a daily Mindfulness practice we will learn most frequently that Mindfulness is a tool we can use to relieve ourselves of  anxiety, stress, worry, self-doubt, depressed moods, chronic pain and emotional suffering….to name just a few.

When we refer to pests, more often than not, we think of mosquitoes, flies, ants, roaches, wasps, and other assorted creatures that invade our homes. And, of course, they do cause us a degree of uneasiness and sometimes some pain. (in the you-know-where and elsewhere)

A daily routine of establishing a Mindfulness Meditation practice can be fraught with self-created hindrances. Here are just a few tips and suggestions that may aid you with such a challenge.