Many of us push our minds and bodies to the limit, often at the expense of our physical and mental wellbeing. The response to our daily activities may include an increased heart rate, high blood pressure, and an accelerated breathing rate. In this week’s blog we discover practices to effectively reduce stress.
Gratitude is Not Just for Thanksgiving
What Do You Want From Life?
Gratitude as a Habit
Recently, I saw a study that captured my attention because it aimed to understand the extent to which participants could establish a habit of gratitude thinking before sleeping (Lo & Leung, 2020). The researchers defined gratitude as an inclination to appreciate and savor daily events and experiences. Here is what the researchers found.
Finding Meaning from 2020
Goodbye 2020
What Kind of Day Will You Have?
Living a purposeful life is often described as whether or not we engage in meaningful, nontrivial activities in our daily life (Scheier et al., 2006). The assumption behind this description is that when we are guided by purpose, we allocate resources and organize activities in a way that move us towards our goal. So, how do we do this? How do we live more purposefully on a daily basis?
Ironing: A Mindfulness Practice?
I’m no domestic goddess. Because of that, there’s usually a long list of things I would rather not do around the house. But recently, I’ve noticed that I have a newfound urge to clean and organize. Perhaps it is a welcome break from everything that is going on. Or, maybe it is the appeal of getting something completely done and the satisfaction that comes with that. But I think the primary reason is that I have incorporated these routine tasks into my daily mindfulness practice.
Creating Space for Loss
Many of us are experiencing feelings of loss right now. Sometimes we can identify where these feelings are coming from and other times it feels unspecified, just a vague feeling of sadness and loss that acts as a negative filter over all dimensions of our lives. These feelings can be expected after all, we have experienced a seismic shift in our lives. Let’s learn effective strategies for how to address these feelings and find a way forward.