Who hasn’t become a little anxious trying to figure out what’s healthy and what’s not? And then that anxiety can trigger emotional eating. But, there is a good reason for this. When we make a list of signs of hunger—a gnawing, empty feeling in the stomach; rapid heart rate; feeling faint, weak, or dizzy; trouble concentrating; feeling irritable—we realize that they are identical to the symptoms of anxiety. So it makes sense that we eat when anxious, trying to relieve what we mistakenly interpret as hunger....

The webinar will be a live stream lecture, during which participants will be able to chat and submit questions of Makransky live. John Makransky is the author or Awakening through Love: Unveiling Your Deepest Goodness and teaches at the Harvard Divinity School. For more information on the webinar and how to register visit the ACMHE website.

In this trailer for his book A Mindful Nation, Congressman Tim Ryan and Elizabeth Stanley, founder of the Mind Fitness Training Institute (MMFT) discuss what mindfulness brings to the table for those serving in the military. The video (below) is about 11 minutes long. For more, see this collection of stories—Mindfulness and the military—on Mindful.org. To see another book trailer video in which the congressman explains why he believes that, when it comes to embracing mindfulness, now’s the time, click here....

Every day of your life, every morning of your life, you could ask yourself, “As I go into this day, what is the most important thing? What is the best use of this day?” At my age, it’s kind of scary when I go to bed at night and I look back at the day, and it seems like it passed in the snap of a finger. That was a whole day?...

New Insights For anyone who (like us) can’t get enough of the science and wisdom of personal and collective wellbeing, here’s a new gem to explore. In fall 2022, Mind & Life Institute launched Insights: Journey Into the Heart of Contemplative Science, a multimedia website sharing key insights catalyzed through their work over 35 years. “We have an important story to tell about the evolution of the field of contemplative science—and the relevance of the knowledge generated for addressing the unprecedented challenges of our time,” explains Sheila Kinkade, advancement strategist for Mind & Life....

Most of what we know about shaping a happy life is from asking people to remember the past, however, hindsight is anything but 20/20. We forget some of life’s key lessons in the vast number of memories we might have acquired throughout the years. To combat this, Harvard University ran the longest study of adult life that’s ever been done. The Harvard Study of Adult Development tracked the lives of 724 men for more than 75 years, asking about their work, their home lives, and their health....

A. The essential attitude of a meditator is curiosity. Meditation gives us an opportunity to look at what our minds do when we’re paying attention to them. And what the mind often does is wander off. Try to integrate an attitude of playfulness into your practice. Your practice doesn’t need to be rigid and strict—there can be spontaneity and flexibility. So, your mind wanders. See the thought, touch it—say here’s the thought, spend a moment with it....

Loving-kindness is meant to be done in the easiest way possible so that the experience springs forth most gently, most naturally. To do it in the most easiest way possible means first to use phrases that are personally meaningful. The traditional phrases as are taught, at least this one classical translation of them, begins with oneself: May I be free from danger, may I know safety. Danger in that sense is both inner danger from the force of certain mind states, and outer danger....

What Does a Leader Sound Like? When asked to envision a “leader,” you might imagine someone with a confident presence. Someone who is a comfortable public speaker. Someone who can hold a room (or a Zoom) with their spoken words providing direction or encouragement. I often think of the leaders I’ve supported in various C-level roles as the captain at the bow of a ship, navigating hazard-filled waters. Eyes on the horizon, anticipating the opportunities and challenges ahead....

For dealing with the challenges of stress and anxiety, we sometimes recommend abdominal breath­ing—breathing from the belly, rather than only into the chest—as this can be very calming. However, if another location is preferable, please listen to your own wisdom. Generally speaking, abdominal or belly breathing is the way we all naturally breathe, especially when we’re lying down. To determine if you’re breathing from your abdomen, place your hand on your belly and feel whether it expands as you inhale and contracts as you exhale....

We all have conflicting emotions happening within us, and it’s important to take a moment and acknowledge those feelings. To observe a moment to recharge and reset, enabling us to ease our minds. How to Ground Yourself When Life Gets Busy Slow down and simplify. Feelings of being overwhelmed and frazzled are common, especially during the holidays. We get accustomed to juggling a million balls at once that we don’t notice the signs that we’ve taken on too much....

2. It’s not all about you It’s hard not to take things personally when someone speaks to you in a rude or unkind way, but often these behaviors are coming from a place of discomfort within the other person. When you can take their action as a message that the other person is having a difficult time rather than as a personal attack, you can begin to relate to him/her differently....

Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google and founder of Time Well Spent, offers these 5 tips for re-organizing your phone to create a less distracting experience: Turn off notifications from machines. Could you turn off almost all notifications on your device? That way, when your device buzzes, you know it’s because a real human wants your attention, not a dating app. Set up custom notifications for individuals. You can set custom vibrations for different people on your contact list....

A 12-Minute Meditation to Come Home to Your Body READ MORE Frank Ostaseski January 11, 2022 Cynda Hylton Rushton January 4, 2022 Boo Boafo January 18, 2021

Begin by thinking about someone who has helped you; maybe they’ve been directly generous or kind, or have inspired you though you’ve never met them. When you think of them, they make you smile. Bring an image of the person to mind, or feel their presence as if they’re right in front of you. Say their name to yourself, and silently offer these phrases to them, focusing on one phrase at a time....

Ammi’s Adventures: Leaves Hi! I’m Ammi. My name means “the whole world is inside of me,” and I think it’s true: I carry the whole world in my mind and heart and body. I know you do, too! I like to play games, explore, and discover what makes me, me. I’m so glad we’re together on this journey! Have you ever watched a leaf dancing in the wind? Swirling, floating, gliding, this way, that way, and softly landing on the grass, on a bench, or at your feet....

While the documentary is titled: “Mindfulness: Panacea or Fad?” listeners might get more out of the key milestones discussed as opposed some of the musings about mindfulness being overrated. To name a few of those milestones: the introduction of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979, Google bringing mindfulness to work and other companies following suit, and mindfulness making its way into military training and being offered to veterans suffering from post-trauamatic stress....

As I look back at the past, it’s with a sense of appreciation and pain for everything that has enabled me to be where I am today. If there’s anything that we’ve learned from this past year, it is that we are still in the midst of history being made. The decisions we make about how we treat other people and their differences will live on, and it’s up to us to learn what we can from the past and make changes for our future....

These coloring books aren’t just for fun—they offer users an experience of “flow,” a mental state in which one becomes so immersed in an experience that time and space and self no longer disrupt the present moment. These coloring books offer themes ranging from lush forest scenes to kaleidoscope patterns and classic comics.The books are a relaxing and creative way to be in the moment, where your biggest problem is trying to remember where you left your pencil sharpener....