Blog
WANTED: A pill for mindfulness. Must be fast-acting.
It seems everybody wants mindfulness, and they want it NOW. They’ve heard or read that people who practice mindfulness and meditation report being healthier and happier, that they’re less stressed, less anxious, less depressed, or at least, as Dan Harris wrote,...
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Back to Basics: Inhale, Exhale, Repeat
Just started teaching a new Mindfulness for Beginners class, and as usual, I began by asking my students, “what’s one thing you want to get from this class?” Their responses were typical: “how to stop worrying and stay present,” to quiet the inner chatter,” “to...
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Surviving the holidays, and my offerings for the New Year
How are you coping in the midst of all this chaos? This year has presented us with more than the usual number of reasons to be anxious, stressed, sad, or depressed. Now more than ever we need to remember our common humanity, and seek out opportunities to come together...
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Mindfulness in Challenging Times
Warning: this post may contain political opinions. How can we understand the current political climate in the U.S., and particularly the Presidential campaign, from a mindfulness perspective? And more importantly, how can mindfulness help us to manage the anxiety...
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Fall schedule of mindfulness classes and groups
The kids are back in school, and we adults may be ready for some education and personal growth time ourselves. I am offering mindfulness classes in some new locations and new formats this fall, as well as continuing the mindfulness-based therapy groups I've previously...
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Mindfulness Meditation retreat this Saturday
Would you like to spend a day dedicated to mindfulness practice, in a serene setting with other like-minded folks? Then join me at the San Damiano Retreat Center this Saturday, July 23, 2016! This is an annual retreat, intended as a refresher for anyone who has taken...
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Acceptance and change in mindfulness practice
One of the most challenging concepts in mindfulness practice is acceptance. Mindfulness means being aware of what’s happening in the present moment, without judging whether we like it or not, and without trying to change it – in other words, accepting what is. This...
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New Drop-in Meditation Group
I am pleased to announce that I am starting what what many of my former students have been asking for: a drop-in mindfulness meditation group, modeled after the “Keeping Mindful” group that I offered in 2014 at the Castro Valley Adult School. The group will meet on...
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Staying Sober the Mindful Way
"Grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." This simple prayer, written around 1940, is familiar to anyone who's ever attended an AA, Al-Anon, or other 12-step program meeting. It...
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Mindfulness for Skeptics
One of my students recently shared that she's having trouble embracing the practice of mindfulness, when her worry about climate change, and the overall state of the world we live in, is giving her nightmares. "How will focusing on my breath help anything, when these...
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