It is also a primary aspect of mindfulness. Curiosity allows us to begin to turn toward the entirety of experience, moving us from avoidance to approach, including that which we don’t like. I would argue curiosity and kindness are the antidotes to judgment and other harsh evaluations we may direct toward ourselves or others and it is a quality that can be developed. Curiosity can be used as a way to inquire into our experience—the joyful and painful alike....

It’s different for everyone and the challenge is finding what it means for us. Kurt Vonnegut says it so well: “And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.” In this video from Elaine Smookler, she asks people to notice that sometimes the reason we’re not happy is because we haven’t taken the time to figure out what that means for us....

Exercise: AWARE An effective way of working with self-stories is summed up in the acronym AWARE, which stands for allow, witness, acknowledge, release, and ease up. Allow all of your thoughts and feelings to come and go as they will. This will help you soften your reactions to whatever comes up for you in the space of mindful awareness. Allowing is a kind and curious attitude that enables you to look more deeply into your stories and learn from them rather than becoming entranced by them or trying to block them, both of which will just leave you more stuck....

Or, maybe you only half heard what was said, as the subject matter sent you into a fear-based place. It’s a common reaction: When anyone says something we don’t like, it’s plausible that instead of really listening and then thinking it through, we feel threatened. This activates the amygdala, which readies us to attack back. Really taking the time to listen to how another person feels—without immediately and sometimes impulsively reacting—creates the space for both parties to feel heard and then to show up with kindness and a more mindful ear....

Of all our communication skills, listening is the one most called upon—and neglected. Philosopher Martin Heidegger identified it as a key to maintaining meaningful relationships with family, friends, and even colleagues. But what is listening? Often we hear something and before we know it we’ve labeled, categorized, and shelved it. At its core, listening is really just taking time instead to experience what we’re hearing in the moment. I recently had a conversation with one of my mindfulness students about why he had taken my class....

To watch a short video of Tim Ryan talking about his vision for “A Mindful Nation,” click here. And to read more about the congressman on Mindful.org, click here. 05/29/12

Robert Booth, writing for The Guardian, spoke with Willem Kuyken, a professor of clinical psychology at Oxford University, who is leading the study. Booth summarizes a key point from Kuyken about the significance of this project: “the spread of mindfulness among children could do for the British population’s mental health what fluoride in the water did for its teeth.” Since the teenage years are so unique, there is a growing field of research on the brain science behind teens and stress....

This relatively simple idea illustrates a somewhat complex concept around stress management and mindfulness. In part, mindfulness practice develops attention—for example, within a body scan we typically observe physical sensations from our toes gradually moving up to our head. But what’s the actual benefit of knowing what’s going on with our toes? Start with the Body Mindfulness is meant to be practical, and once again, this study shows why. The body scan practice monitors subtle physical shifts constantly occurring in our bodies....

When you pay close attention to everything you do, without judgment, you open yourself up to seeing everything in life as it is happening in that moment. You begin to wake up to the unfolding of your life. For example, instead of getting somewhere and wondering how you got there, you are actually present to what is occurring while it is taking place. If you can bring mindful awareness to anything you do, then schoolwork is no exception....

From the event post: This four-day, three-night retreat is ideal for lawyers, judges, law teachers, and law students who either seek an introduction to mindfulness, or wish to integrate an existing mindfulness practice into their work, studies, and life, and to deepen their understanding of meditative practice. Open to beginner and those with some meditation experience, this retreat will provide substantial periods of silent meditation practice, including sitting meditation, silent walking, and qi gong....

In one of the studies, 20 veterans with insomnia (25 percent who also suffered from at least one of the following: PTSD, depression, anxiety/panic, pain/fatigue), took part in Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia for 8 to 10 weeks. Researchers found the mindfulness therapy improved sleep, especially in reducing sleep latency (the time between lying down and falling asleep) and reducing the frequency of having nightmares. To read the article written by Boston Public Health Examiner Monica Wahi, click here....

Q: What compelled you to start meditating? A: I think basically my own inner misery and dissatisfaction. I was just dominated by my sadness and anxiety and I felt a sense of inadequacy with my inability to love myself and felt just generally lost and unhappy. When I started seeing that some of the biggest parts of my unhappiness were related to me allowing my craving to just dominate my action, and I saw how unhealthy I had become by consuming a lot of different drugs, not taking care of myself, using drugs as a vehicle to get as far away from myself as possible, it all came to a screeching halt....

So what is actually the truth? The truth is that instead of raging hormones what’s happening is we have remodelling in the brain in ways we never could have predicted. We now understand two big things are happening in the brain. Things you as an adult can support adolescents in developing well, and if you’re an adolescent, you actually can use this to help your brain grow in an optimal way....

Ehrlich was already practicing medicine when he was introduced to meditation by his wife, a Sufi, and though he doesn’t identify as a Sufi himself, he says that Sufi meditation has helped him in his interaction with patients. The meditation that’s practiced in the Sufi tradition involves focusing on love—on taking everything into the heart. With the aid of this meditation, says Dr. Ehrlich, “I could connect on an emotional level with people more than I’d ever done before....

Healing a Wound of Great Magnitude: Grief counselor Meg Spinella writes how, though we grieve deeply when faced with senseless and sudden loss, we don’t have to feel powerless. 6 Mindful Strategies for Recovering from Loss: Ronald Alexander, Ph.D. shares the story of a young couple’s journey to healing after the loss of their two children, and offers six strategies for us to use when confronted with the tragedy of loss....

The list of major cities airing the film includes San Francisco, Las Vegas, Wichita, Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Detroit, Phoenix, Austin, Providence, Indianapolis, and many more. Watch the film trailer here:

What would it be like to shift your brain’s tendency to focus on the pain and instead to take some time to acknowledge and treasure your commitment to those values? Consider holding it clearly in your mind and heart and strengthening your resolve to act in alignment with those core values, instead of becoming discouraged by the enormity of the challenge. Could this inner resolve perhaps allow you to feel a little less powerless, a little more inspired and emboldened to take whatever action is available to you in this moment?...