awareness

Hello from guest blogger, Lisa Robinson! In this post, I want to share something important with you that I found out about mindfulness. Lately, I’ve found myself noticing that I’ve accumulated a lot of clutter. Over time, a pile of books here, and materials for various projects there…..and there….and there have been making me feel loaded down and without energy. Unfortunately, I’m not the kind of person who can quickly find exactly the page I want from a big stack of papers. I spent a good part of the last weekend clearing the clutter and getting more organized. In the process, I found a few things I hadn’t been able to locate easily. I also filled six large garbage bags with perfectly useful items that I no longer needed, and I donated them to Goodwill. As a result of this, I feel much more grounded and able to take care of some things I’d been putting off. I feel as if I have a fresh start and new awareness. This experience reminded me of a great resource on my bookshelf to share with you. Sarah Susanka is an amazingly gifted architect who initiated the “small house movement,” where building better does not have to mean building big, sprawling mega houses. Susanka has applied this perspective to her book, “The Not So Big Life.” Go here to find out more about the book and much more: https://www.notsobiglife.com/ Consider what gets in

Hello from guest blogger, Lisa Robinson! In this week’s post, I want to share a great resource about keeping mindfulness at the top of your awareness every day. The resource is Holstee, a Brooklyn-based design studio that offers products that inspire people to live mindfully. See their web site at www.holstee.com. You can also find them in social media as listed on their site. Although I recommend navigating around Holstee’s web site, if you only have a few minutes, do watch this video about their Manifesto, available as a delightful poster that brings us back to what matters most in life. Here’s the video link: https://youtu.be/QDmt_t6umoY I’m also a fan of Holstee’s “Mindful Art Subscription,” a monthly service where for $7, you can sign up to receive a piece of art. It’s a card with art that encourages mindfulness as well as a stamped envelope. After you have enjoyed the card for a month, when you receive your next mindfulness card, you can send the previous one to someone else for their enjoyment. There are other resources on the site to help you consider the precious, fleeting moments that make up your life, and to consciously take action to make the most of them. I hope that you enjoy finding out more about Holstee, and that their offerings help you to be more aware of opportunities for everyday mindfulness. Have a great, mindful week! I look forward to sharing more

Hello from guest blogger, Lisa Robinson! In this post, I wanted to share with you some information about a free online event, “The Mindful Eating Summit,” which will happen next week on August 25 – 29. Find out more here: https://mindfuleatingsummit.com/ This site invites you to sign up for the online event by providing a free Emotional Eater’s Tool Kit. The event is hosted by Dr. Susan Albers (@DrSusanAlbers on Twitter). Dr. Albers will interview experts on the habits and emotions that shape the way we eat. Participants will take away techniques, strategies and tools to apply right away to take charge and stop emotional eating. I signed up because I admit that I can be an emotional eater, and I know that additional resources to help me make better choices could be very useful. Although I’ve consciously chosen better habits for the most part, significant stress can make me more likely to seek out junk food for comfort. If you have interest in this topic, please click on the link above to find out more. Something that I started doing recently that has been very helpful is to make Green Monster smoothie drinks filled with vegetables, fresh fruit, and a dollop of protein powder. I feel great after enjoying one of these drinks. Here’s a link to a recipe to get started: https://noshon.it/recipes/green-monster-smoothie/ If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to comment here or to contact

Hello from guest blogger, Lisa Robinson!  This post presents more reflections and observations from my experience in the program in the book “Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World” by Mark Williams and Danny Penman @DrDannyPenman. Last week, the meditation was a body scan that helped me place my focus on each area of the body, notice anything I was feeling, and then let it go.  Although the intention was to do this meditation while lying down on the floor or a bed, I found myself doing it on most week days while sitting in my office chair at work.  To my pleasant surprise, afterwards I felt remarkably refreshed, with my thoughts positive and clear. The mindfulness book makes the point that mindfulness “is about reorienting your life, so you can enjoy it to the full” (p. 116).  Something you can do to experience part of this reorientation is to do the ten-finger gratitude exercise:On a daily basis, stop to think of ten things you are grateful for, and count them off on your fingers. This is simple, yet can be very meaningful.  One of my ten things happened this morning as I was driving to work.  It was still quite early, and there wasn’t much traffic on the city streets that make up my short commute.  As I signaled to turn down the street that leads to my parking area, a small rabbit began crossing