Mindful Gratitude

The medieval German theologian and mystic Meister Eckhart said,

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.”
So here we are in this moment, reading this post, and I’m inviting you to do a 1-minute practice of the things in life you’re grateful for.
If your mind is restless and wants to skip past this short exercise, check-in and see if there’s any discomfort.
Sometimes we actually have discomfort when considering what we’re grateful for. In fact, this discomfort can even cause us to skip over the practice of gratefulness altogether.
The result is that we may be denying ourselves the benefits of a practice proven to aid in the experience of life satisfaction and the encouragement of comfortable emotions.
If you experience discomfort, sense into it – allowing this awareness to also become a part of the practice.

Mindfulness quote

"Cultivating mind’s inherent capacity to stay put is called mindfulness training. Mindfulness is like the rope that keeps the wild elephant from destroying everything in sight. The rope of mindfulness bring us back to our immediate experience: to our breath, to our walking, to the book in our hands."--Pema Chodron

What most annoys you about your teen may be what saves them.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/01/03/144495483/why-a-teen-who-talks-back-may-have-a-bright-future?sc=fb&cc=fp

Support Group

http://www.dbsamadison.com/

Support Group for folks dealing with Depression and Bipolar Disorder

Radical Acceptance

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/health/man-uses-his-schizophrenia-to-gather-clues-for-daily-living.html?_r=1&src=tp&smid=fb-share

Here is a beautiful example of Radical Acceptance and adaptation.

Mindfulness in motion

I teach all of my clients mindfulness practice. The great thing about mindfulness is that it doesn't have to take up any extra time and there are countless activities we do in the day that we can bring a mindful awareness to in a disciplined and deliberate way; bathing, eating, cleaning, reading, driving, parenting, listening, sitting, driving, talking, walking, smelling, thinking, seeing.....
You don't have to stop, sit, and be mindful. You can practice mindfulness in motion no matter how busy your schedule.


http://www.tricycle.com/community/how-train-wild-elephant-and-other-adventures-mindfulness

Check out this great guided meditation.

http://heathermartin.ssivipassana.org/?p=216

Teen Client Wisdom: Sometimes life throws you punches, and you just have to take it.

Being Mindful=Bringing your mind and body to the same space

rock and roll wisdom

"When you're depressed, hard work is the cure. The next time you're depressed, go out into the back yard and dig a 6 foot hole. But don't jump in just yet." Robert Pollard, (Guided by Voices, Boston Spaceships etc etc)