Mindful November/December 2021

I often find myself in moments where I fail to see some-one else’s truth. Once, when I was younger, I got to paint houses for Habitat for Humanity on a reservation in South Dakota. There were 15 of us sharing potluck meals and exploring the Black Hills on day trips with our hosts from the reservation. On one trip, a man named Elvis took us to see Mt. Rushmore. As we all stood there at the base of the mountain, in awe of this symbol of our country, Elvis, who was quick with an easy smile and a humorous anecdote, casually said: “Imagine there was a statue of the man who raped your mother in your living room. Imagine you were forced to carve it.” He looked at us, we…

What makes you feel empowered? I feel most empowered when I drive down the 110 Freeway. I belt out show tunes and visualize singing to an audience of thousands. Grant G. I feel empowered when I surrender. Letting go of expectations and trusting the universe is liberating and empowering! Joanie When I stand up for myself. heatherlaurena Knowing I always have choices! Making simple, positive choices every day to build my physical, mental, and spiritual muscles yields big results and makes me feel empowered. Kristen K. Noticing the signs of progress or healing in both body and mind. Kalafern1848 I feel empowered when I finally verbalize my feelings, my dreams, my goals. By putting it out there I release some of my insecurities about whatever it is and can pursue…

GET WITH THE PROGRAM HBO’s In Treatment is giving viewers a front-row seat at patient-doctor therapy sessions. The show aims to highlight the importance of mental health while addressing the stigma therapy carries in various groups. “I hope we just provide another branch of resource for people in our community,” Uzo Aduba, who plays Dr. Brook Taylor, said on a panel with National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City (NAMI). Aduba notes there are family and friends, and faith leaders, as sources of outreach, “but also there’s this branch of therapy as a source of outreach.” HBO has also partnered with Ten Percent Happier to share meditation guides inspired by In Treatment characters, and launched the Therapy Is for Everybody campaign, presenting talks from multicultural mental health and…

HEART’S CONTENT 16-year-old Shane Jones began bidding on repossessed storage lockers so he could sell the contents and make extra money—until he saw what was inside. He didn’t feel right re-selling family heirlooms, baby photos, and other personal knickknacks. Now, he buys the storage lockers and follows clues he finds inside to reunite the contents with the original owners. FLEECE ON EARTH Tracey Kruger’s photos of baby lambs in sweaters bring the warm and fuzzies to Instagram users around the world. She posts the photos from her merino farm in Australia where she helps orphaned lambs stay warm by putting them in baby sweaters. She receives hundreds of messages from people who find joy in her photos, invites commenters to help her name the lambs, and some fans even send…

WORK PERKS An international team of scientists examined weekly data from 221 executives to see if they might benefit from an app-based, workplace mindfulness intervention. The eight-week program included audio guided individual mindfulness practices and activities such as attending to bodily sensations, breathing, stretching and relaxation exercises, and instruction on mindfulness for workplace challenges. At each week’s end, participants were surveyed on their job satisfaction, work engagement, emotional exhaustion, and mindfulness. Over the course of the program, participants’ self-reported mindfulness increased—and in turn, the boost in mindfulness was generally related to improved work engagement and job satisfaction, and less emotional exhaustion. Additional studies using a control group are needed to better understand these effects. HAPPIER MOMS In a pilot study, researchers at the University of Illinois tested whether a mindfulness-based…

My attention span feels absolutely shattered by—well, everything. Stress, anxiety, social media, my to-do list. How can I rebuild it? Even without stress, anxiety, and more, the mind will wander. And in fact, research shows it wanders 50% of our waking moments. Mind-wandering is ubiquitous. And, contrary to popular belief, mindfulness doesn’t cause all thought to cease. Mindfulness can help you practice stabilizing and directing your mind, which comes in handy especially in moments when we may feel stressed, distracted, or overwhelmed. This focused-attention practice can help you learn to direct your full, undivided attention to a single object of focus, in this case the experience of breathing. And when (not if) your mind wanders, you simply bring your attention back to the breath. 1 Sit in a way that…