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Daily Dose of Mindfulness
Daily Dose of Mindfulness
Ms. Scott is a Co-Director of APR's College Placement. She has been on her own journey of developing a strong mindfulness practice over the years and has thankfully brought some of that knowledge to APR; she has been teaching a wonderful mindfulness-based mini-course for faculty and staff this winter/spring.
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4/15/20
A very simple one. Go back to your gratitude list (and if you didn't do one before, take TWO minutes to do it now; trust me).
* Take a few seconds thinking about each thing on it. (I bet you can't help but smile.)
* Now take 30 seconds and see what you would add.
* Take a deep breath in and out (or two or three), and just be grateful for the positives and the gifts in your life. (No matter our situation, we all have them.)
Have a wonderful day,
Diane
4/14/20
Good morning,
Consider this:
"In Japan, when a tea mug has an imperfection visible to the eye, it is considered beautiful. The flaw shows that a human touched and molded a piece of clay into its present existence. The flaw is also a tangible reminder that all tea mugs will crack in time, and that all physical existence is transient. This beauty of imperfection is called wabi sabi in Japanese, and it's derived from Buddhist teachings on the three marks of existence -- impermanence, suffering, and the absence of self." -- from Lion's Roar, May 2020 edition
Where can you find beauty in imperfection today?
Have a peaceful day,
Diane
Good morning,
Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend and some sunshine! This is a good one to start the week (and use whenever you need to refocus) - it's 9 min., led by Manoj Dias (who led the tension release one I shared earlier):
Happy Monday,
Diane
4/13/20
Focus Meditation
Focus Meditation
Mindfullness "Blessing" submitted by Ms. Malo:
Mindfullness "Blessing" submitted by Ms. Malo:
*** The film is also available in various languages including Spanish by clicking the cc button. ***
Good morning,
One of the central spiritual aspects of Buddhism is impermanence, Spring, Easter weekend, this COVID-19 crisis ... all seem like perfect times to pause and consider our impermanence, the impermanence of all things, as least as they are now. And a good time for a (9-min.) meditation on renewal.
May it help to wash away any stress or worries of the day. Hope everyone has a great weekend, including Easter for those who celebrate it!
Be well,
Diane
4/10/20
4/9/20
Good morning & Happy Pesach to those who celebrate it!
I had a request for this poem this morning, the first day of Passover. A special prayer has been added to the Passover haggadah tradition for this year, written by rabbinical leaders. The story of Passover often resonates not just with the Jewish faith but with many other faiths and cultures who have also fought and survived and overcome adversity. Have a beautiful day, all!
Source of Blessing:
Our lives are in turmoil
our hearts heavy
help us to cope
with this modern plague
we are worried for our families,
we are concerned for our communities,
our world is on the brink.
Bless us with strength.
Source of Mercy:
We pray for courage
to stay strong
for those in our care,
and for ourselves.
We pray for insight
to act in loving ways
to keep our communities safe.
Bless us with strength.
Source of Hope:
We pray for those
who are at greatest risk
vulnerable and scared
isolated and lonely,
and for those heroes
leading on the front lines
who keep us alive and fed.
Bless us with strength.
Source of Life:
Throughout history
our people has faced plagues,
forced expulsions, slavery,
exile and extermination.
We have walked in narrow places
wandered many deserts
Sustain us now,
Bless us with strength.
Source of Love:
We celebrate our fortitude
our shared history
the traditions which
have gifted us the DNA,
spiritual armor
to overcome
this modern imprisonment.
Bless us with strength.
Source of Healing:
We give thanks for the gifts
sometimes taken for granted
our homes, our families,
friends, communities,
We are blessed to connect with
technology and computers.
May we honor this sharing.
Bless us with strength.
Source of Courage:
Quell our anxiety,
keep us safe
help us continue to pray
sing and study
We see the light of redemption
Just beyond the horizon.
Let us virtually join hands
and march together
towards the promised land.
Bless us with freedom.
Amen.
4/8/20
I love this one (just over 5 min.) by Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams, with her wisdom of our "inherent dignity" and establishing groundedness like a tap root into the earth, before and as essential for "extending horizontally" to others.
Have a wonderful Wednesday,
Diane
4/7/20
This is a really simple, good 5-min. morning one, to start the day off well:
Have a good one,
Diane
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4/6/20
This is a great one for us as educators, all "conscious creators" ... and I love Koya Webb's calm voice and her concept of "divine downloads" we may get while meditating. It's worth finding 10 min. to give this to yourself. Enjoy!
Happy Monday,
Diane
I know not everyone's child was filled with wonder and innocence (mine either), but just for today, think of good days from your childhood ... or an easier time in your life ... or the childhood you wish you had. Now push back the furniture, crank up the volume, and give yourself an all out, stress relieving DANCE BREAK to (IMHO) one of the best songs of all time!
Happy Friday all and have a restorative weekend,
Diane
4/3/20
Petition heaven for the graces you need to help others.
Petition heaven for the graces you need to help others.
Find silence. Seek it out. Value it. Understand that this is the most important part of your day.
Find silence. Seek it out. Value it. Understand that this is the most important part of your day.
-Ms. Scott's mom
4/2/20
4/1/20
Take two minutes, find a journal/notebook or use the notes app on your phone. Free-write a list of everything you feel grateful for. (Even if you've done this before, it's fun to see what comes out of you spontaneously in different times.)
Creating a gratitude list makes you feel good as you do it, and it is a wonderful touchstone to look back at when you need a little inspiration.
Creating a gratitude list makes you feel good as you do it, and it is a wonderful touchstone to look back at when you need a little inspiration.
Having an "attitude of gratitude" has been shown through research to help cultivate that deeper sense of joy that is less shakable in tough times.
Have a grateful, joyful day, all! - Diane
3/31/20
Good morning,
This is a 5-min. affirmations meditation by Koya Webb. In our PD Mini-Course, Beatrice reminded us all of the power of affirmations, for all of us and the kids.
Remember, we are love. Have a great day!
Diane
3/30/20
Good morning,
Hope everyone got some good rest and rejuvenation this weekend! I love that word, rejuvenation, as it means returning to youthfulness and evokes a sense of joy and wonder to me.
Anyway, ever heard of Dan Harris? He's a broadcast journalist that had a well-known freeze up on live TV, and wound up stumbling into mindfulness as a result. His podcast, 10% Happier, is doing a "live sanity break" every weekday at 3 pm, to help get people through this time of crisis.
Have a good week,
Diane
3/27/20
Students Teach us How to Eat Mindfully
Students Teach us How to Eat Mindfully
Try it! It really works!
As those in the PD Mini-Course can attest, it's really amazing how much you taste the orange (strawberries are also good for this)! And I invite you to close your eyes when doing the non-sight exploration ... it's cool how it heightens your other senses!
Enjoy!,
Diane
3/25/20
This one only takes about 5 minutes, and is so relaxing & reassuring. Enjoy!
Have a good Wednesday, all,
Diane
3/24/20
Take time now/soon, as your work winds to an end for today, and B ... R ... E ... A ... T ... H ... E ...
Did you know that it has been proven three deep, slow breaths is all it takes to begin to elicit "the relaxation response" (it's a real thing!, inhibition of your fight or flight, etc.) in your brain? Take FIVE minutes and do this:
Wherever you are right now, look outside. What is one thing of beauty and wonder you can see?
Now look inward (I invite you to close your eyes, to make it easier to focus within). What is one thing of beauty and wonder you can "see"? :-)
Last one: what is one "socially distant" interaction you have had in the last 24 hours (or a solo pursuit) that brought you JOY?
Big love to all,
Diane
3/23/20
"Stay together, friends. Don't scatter and sleep. Our friendship is made of being awake."
"Stay together, friends. Don't scatter and sleep. Our friendship is made of being awake."
-- Rumi
Good morning,
Hope we are all faring well: taking good care, working as we can in this "new normal," and getting what we need in terms of connection, time outside, etc.
I did this free, guided half-day retreat yesterday (link below), and it was really nice. I encourage you to try it if you can set aside about three quiet hours. Two quotes from it that I wanted to share:
(This one is for when we are getting stuck with worry, doubt, anything we consider obstacles in our lives, for a good shift of perspective.)
"It's not in the way; it IS the way." -- Jack Kornfield(?)
And this one is particularly good for these times, and for our work together in general (think DEI, CTR & The Brain, SEL):
"Stay together, friends. Don't scatter and sleep. Our friendship is made of being awake." -- Rumi
Happy Monday,
Diane
3/19/20
This is a good one, a short (10 min.), guided meditation with seven affirmations to start your day off right.
https://insighttimer.com/jonathanlehmann/guided-meditations/morning-meditation-with-music
I have used this one as an intro with students a bunch, and they seem to love it. Jonathan is from France, and we have also connected about partnering on a curriculum for use in high schools in France and the US ... and who knows where else. Exciting!
Be well, all,
Diane
3/18/20
This was shared with me by a friend who is a prof at UNH. Seemed like a good one for today's daily dose of mindfulness. Enjoy.
-Ms. Scott
Pandemic
What if you thought of itas the Jews consider the Sabbath—the most sacred of times?Cease from travel.Cease from buying and selling.Give up, just for now,on trying to make the worlddifferent than it is.Sing. Pray. Touch only thoseto whom you commit your life.Center down.
And when your body has become still,reach out with your heart.Know that we are connectedin ways that are terrifying and beautiful.(You could hardly deny it now.)Know that our livesare in one another’s hands.(Surely, that has come clear.)Do not reach out your hands.Reach out your heart.Reach out your words.Reach out all the tendrilsof compassion that move, invisibly,where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love–for better or for worse,in sickness and in health,so long as we all shall live.
–Lynn Ungar 3/11/20
What if you thought of itas the Jews consider the Sabbath—the most sacred of times?Cease from travel.Cease from buying and selling.Give up, just for now,on trying to make the worlddifferent than it is.Sing. Pray. Touch only thoseto whom you commit your life.Center down.
And when your body has become still,reach out with your heart.Know that we are connectedin ways that are terrifying and beautiful.(You could hardly deny it now.)Know that our livesare in one another’s hands.(Surely, that has come clear.)Do not reach out your hands.Reach out your heart.Reach out your words.Reach out all the tendrilsof compassion that move, invisibly,where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love–for better or for worse,in sickness and in health,so long as we all shall live.
–Lynn Ungar 3/11/20
3/17/20
Good morning,
Today's daily dose of mindfulness is from one of my favorite practitioners, Jack Kornfield, a real leader of mindfulness practice in "the West." This is specifically about cultivating compassion during this COVID-19 crisis:
Click Here
Be well,
Diane
3/16/20
Hello, APR fam! I decided that one thing I can do is provide a "daily dose of mindfulness" to try to help us all stay sane & balanced in this upside-down time. I encourage you to try it out, but feel free to totally disregard. Shared with love.
Apparently, Lizzo beat me to it, lol:
And here is a 7-minute guided meditation for calming:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kVVrE_sCNA
Be safe & be well,
Diane
FREE Mindfulness Resources:
FREE Mindfulness Resources:
What went well today?
An Eight-Minute Practice to Notice Positive Moments
An Eight-Minute Practice to Notice Positive Moments
Submitted by Ms. Wallach
Submitted by: Ms. Scott
A Practice to Foster Resilience
Submitted: by Ms. Wallach
Submitted by: Ms. Scott - 7 min. Meditation
Submitted by: Ms. Serrano - Bed yoga
Submitted by: Ms. Serrano - Relaxing Audio
Seven affirmations to start your day off right.
Submitted by: Ms. Scott
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