Happy Solstice and Blessed Yule

Today is the winter solstice, also known as Yule.  it is the first official day of winter and the shortest day of the year.  Author Susan Cooper reminds us of the beauty of the Yuletide season. May it bring a bit of joy to all our hearts.

The Shortest Day
By Susan Cooper

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us – listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!

Keeping it Simple During the Holidays

It is mid-December and things are starting to get busy around my house this time of year.  The holiday shopping, decorating, and parties are all fun, but it can get a little crazy gearing up for Dec 25 as we celebrate Christmas at my house.
 
No matter which holiday you recognize, this is a time to celebrate. A time to spend with family and friends.  But it should also be a time of peace and reflection.  Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the shopping and spending, I want to create a holiday with more meaning, more sharing, and more happiness this year.
 
I’ve been checking out Simplify the Holidays’ site with tips for creating less wasteful and more meaningful holiday celebrations.  Instead of buying all my gifts on Amazon or a big box retailer this year, I am opting for locally made gifts and encouraging my kids to do handmade gifts this year as well. I’m also thinking more about charitable donations and sharing time together vs. the latest gadget or toy. Seasonal plants make a great gift as do homemade goodies. A gratitude journal or craft project is another mindful choice. Sharing photos or creating and mounting a favorite saying for family members is a simple way to gift with meaning and not overspend or give someone something they don’t want or need. Giving an experience such as travel, an event, or a class may be another way to go if you do have money to spend.
 
Check out our Simplify the Holidays calendar daily inspirations and practical tips for simplifying your holiday season.
 

Merry Mindfulness!

Drinking Water

Moving the mountains and elevation I have been drinking a lot more water.  At 6000 feet above sea level, you exhale and perspire twice as much moisture than at sea level.   So, no wonder I am drinking water all the time.  With my increased water consumption have come questions about our water supply. Friends and neighbors here say the local water supply here is pretty good, but I always filter from the tap. If you have not checked out your tap water, reports are posted online on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website. (Visit the EPA’s website for Local Water Quality Information.)  The report summarizes which contaminants have been found in your drinking water and whether any of them have reached potentially dangerous levels.
 
Another water option is to go directly to a natural spring. I found one near my home here in Truckee and plan to check out spring water direct from the source. Find A Spring (link) is a database of springs around the world that provide fresh clean water.
 
I also like to have a bottled mineral water in my fridge. I drink it with dinner or at night when I like to have a little bubbly water.  My favorites are San Pellegrino and Gerolsteiner. And, bonus, mineral water does not include the chemicals that we get from the tap. If you suspect that your drinking water is low in minerals, mineral water could be a good thing to add to your diet. Bottled mineral water contains up to four times as much calcium and magnesium as regular tap water. Here is a chart that shows the amount of the various minerals in the most common brands you will see at the store.  (Just be careful of the sodium content).  
 
Drink healthy and stay hydrated!   

Mindful Apps for Kids

The Election night has gone differently than many expected and has brought strong emotions to the forefront for both adults and children.  My kids have had a lot of questions and are feeling very nervous about the election results and what happens next.  So, I thought I would pass along some apps suggestions to help with the fear and uncertainly that our kids may be feeling.

Here are a few apps that I like that can help kids relax. They feature simple to follow mediation techniques that calm anxiety in these uncertain times
 
Smiling Mind - This app helps the 7-to-18 year olds tackle everyday stresses through psychologist-developed mindfulness meditations.  Each session starts with a quick series of questions to focus the mind, followed by simple, easy-to-follow meditation exercises. It is based on the principle of being aware of taste, touch, sight and smell to be in the moment.  It’s free and adults can use it too.

Mindfulness for Children - This free meditation by Psychomotor Therapist and certified mindfulness teacher Pia Holgersen and App developer Jannik Holgersen.  The App provides step by step easy to follow audio instructions on how to meditate.
http://mindful-app.com
 
Sleep Mediation for kids - Bedtime can be a great time to talk about emotions and get your kids to calm down, with help from celebrated yogi, Montessori teacher, and Calm for Kids founder, Christiane Kerr. The guided meditations (the app is preloaded with four meditation stories, extras can be purchased) are designed to relax children of all ages.

 Calm - Calm is a straightforward app that teaches mindfulness. It is free to download and contains plenty of content, including more than 20 soothing audio/visual nature backgrounds, trackable timed sessions, and free guided meditations, such as the 7 Days of Calm series. This is a good app for teens
 
We may feel anger or sadness at the election results and other political challenges that will arise, but meditation can help us sort out those feelings and understand that love and compassion will rise above election polls.
 

Natural Beauty

By now you must have noticed the “natural beauty” movement in the cosmetic industry.  Every celebrity seems to be creating a line of natural beauty products and everyone is giving up old school beauty products to go au naturel.

More folks have become aware of ingredients in their cosmetics and personal care products, and it is important that skin care and hair care products have natural ingredients. Sulfates are the No. 1 ingredient to avoid, with parabens coming in second—most likely because they’ve been associated with skin cancer.

The shift to more natural beauty products is good news because it’s making the personal care industry clean up its act, in large part because of pressure from consumers who want safer options and ingredients.

There are many natural beauty products to choose from these days, but lately I have been obsessed with the products from Una Biologicals based in Pittsburgh, PA. Most Una Biologicals items are made with eight ingredients or less and are handcrafted. And the prices are terrific!

Here are my three favorite products from Una that are in my medicine cabinet right now:

Rose Facial Cleaner: $18 This oil-based cleanser with rose and carrot seed oil gently removes make-up and impurities while retaining essential moisture in your skin.

Luxe Face Cream: $25 Day or night face cream made with organic virgin coconut, apricot, and almond oils combined with nutrient-rich avocado oil to deeply hydrate and repair your skin.

The Wound Wonder: $5.50 Organic wonder salve can help relieve anything from bug bites and razor burn to kitchen cuts with its blend of organic calendula, comfrey, and chickweed. It also can minimize symptoms of eczema.

If you are in Pittsburgh, PA, stop by the Una Biologicals storefront in the hipster neighborhood of Lawrenceville. Or shop for products and learn more about where they can be found at www.unabiologicals.com.

Monday Night Dharma Talks Live from Spirit Rock

Living in Northern CA for the last 20 years I have been blessed to often visit Spirit Rock Meditation Center.  Spirit Rock is dedicated the practice of mindful awareness and provides silent meditation retreats, as well as classes, trainings, and Dharma study opportunities for both beginners and experienced students.

One of my favorite offerings at Spirit Rock is the Monday night Dharma Talks. I head over to Woodacre, CA at least a few times a year to listen to Jack Kornfield (and friends) give these talks. For over 30 years, a group has been gathering there and sharing the practices of awareness and compassion. It is amazing to mediate with a large group. If you are traveling to northern CA, Spirit Rock is about a half hour from San Francisco and a must-see for mindful visitors.

I have recently moved to Truckee, and it is not as easy for me to drive to Spirit Rock, but (hooray!) the Monday night Dharma Talks can now be access via the web

For a few hours you can put your life on hold and meditate via live stream

Spirit Rock is visited by an estimated 40,000 peace-seekers every year and has become one of the most influential and well-attended meditation centers in the world.  The teachings of the Buddha (Dharma) and the practices of Insight Meditation (Vipassana) and loving-kindness meditation (metta) are at the heart of the programs offered at Spirit Rock

If you need an escape from everyday life where you can quiet the mind and open your heart, you can do it virtually. Check out the live webcasts, they are held every Monday night from 7:15 - 9:15pm PDT. "Spirit Rock Live: Monday Nights with Jack Kornfield and Friends." The cost of the live stream a sliding scale starting at $10. There are also many free resources on the Spirit Rock website.

Sound Therapy with Singing Bowls

I recently had my first experience with Sound Therapy with Gyongyi Ridenour, the founder of Gyoharmony, near Lake Tahoe, CA.  Sound healing is a mind-body approach to wellness. Sound healers work to release tension held in the body with the help of vibration of sound.
 
And it makes sense. Music has been used for years to simply help relax people and put them in a better state of mind. After all it has been proven that when someone releases tension and relaxes, their immune system benefits.
 
Sound healing can be the use of chanting, music, and other types of sounds to calm the mind and help the body to heal itself. The sound is transmitted as vibrations of energy in the air at a certain wavelength. For example, the “Love Frequency” is said to be 528Hz, and 432 Hertz frequency is supposed to be the healing frequency. There are also specific sound frequencies for pain control, neurodevelopmental remediation, sleep, accelerated learning, and enhanced productivity.
 
In my class with Gyongyi she played the Tibetan singing bowls and gongs through channeling. As a participant, I experienced full Body, Mind and Spirit relaxation, hearing the sound, feeling the vibration and receiving the wonderful healing energy.
 
The practice of Sound Therapy is becoming more popular in wellness circles, with “sound baths” popping up at yoga studios and spas around the country. And for good reason. Using sound as therapy can help with issues such as sleep disorders, anxiety, stress, pain management and more.
 
Check out your local listing for yoga studios who may offer sound therapy in your area. Or if you want to learn more about sound healing a good place to start is online at explore sound healing The International Academy of Sound Healing  or the Sound Healing Center
 
 
 
 

Harvest Moon

Tonight, Sept 16, 2016, a full Moon more will appear in the sky and the lunar eclipse will descend on us.  Tonight's Pisces full moon will bring a transformational energy.  It is a powerful time to let go and surrender to things that don't serve us any more and break old patterns. 

Check out this great article from Mind Body Green about eight ways you can let go and surrender during the Pisces full moon lunar eclipse:

And if you would like to learn more about the science of tonight's harvest moon visit space watching columnist, Joe Rao, at Space.com

Time To Color

Lately I’ve been seeing coloring books everywhere, the bookstore, gift shops, the grocery store check outline, Amazon, ITunes. These coloring books say they are“mindful” or “anti-stress”. It seems that people are exited to do something that is not on a screen and make time to do something creative.  Making time to color can be a enjoyable way to be in the moment with paper and pencil.

If you are thinking about buying one of the coloring books, some of of favorite coloring books are "Balance (Angie's Extreme Stress Menders Volume 1)" by Angie Grace , “Coloring Mandala’s” by Susan Fincher, and "The Mindfulness Colouring Book: Anti-stress Art Therapy for Busy People" by Emma Farrarons. These books can be used by kids and adults, but the new coloring book are being marketed to stressed-out adults looking for a moment of calm that a coloring session can bring.

If you just want to try mindful coloring out and not sure you want to buy an entire book of coloring pages.  Here are a couple of free downloads that are great way to start.

-       Healing from Burnout

-       Mindfulness Colouring

-       Mandals

And if you find it easier to do coloring on screen, well, there’s an app for that too.

-  Colorfy,

- Enchanted Forest,

- Pigment

So sit down, relax, pick up a crayon or a colored pencil and take some time to color.  You may just create something something beautiful!

Summer Wanderlust

It’s summer and time for some fun! Living in the Bay area there are always music festivals to enjoy, but this year I am lucky to be among those attending Wanderlust in Squaw Valley.

Wanderlust is a leader in the yoga and wellness space, and the festivals are all-out celebrations of mindful living. They bring together instructors, musicians, speakers and chefs for a four-day retreat in one of the world’s most awe-inspiring natural resorts. It’s a great way to get out in nature, explore new ideas, and make new friends.

Wanderlust tickets are kind of like a choose-your-own-adventure purchase; you can pick for “music-only” tickets or go for the complete experience of picking from scheduled activities each day (such as yoga, meditation, and the Speakeasy lecture series), plus enjoy access to the concerts. 

The first Wanderlust Festival festival was held in Squaw Valley in July 2009 and has grown to seven festivals in the United States and Canada. “Festivals are all about community,” says Wanderlust co-founder Jeff Krasno. “They bring people together who tend to share similar values in an environment that’s all about music, dance and fun.” The concept for Wanderlust was sparked when Krasno, co-founder of the record label and artist management company Velour Music Group, got inspired by the yoga community he saw in his wife Schuyler’s Manhattan studio. “There’s a growing cultural movement toward more mindful living, and concepts such as ethical consumerism and fair-trade fashion that seemed progressive back in the 70s are now mainstream,” says Krasno. “We wanted to provide a place for people who share these values to come together and commune.”

If you can’t make one of the Wanderlust locations this summer, you can check out Wanderlust Speakeasy online. The casual lecture series covers topics ranging from holistic health to progressive politics.

Adventure awaits.

Ayurveda Tips for Drinking Water

Lately my eyes and lips have been dry and I have been feeling a little run down, so I decided to look to the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda for some helpful tips on hydration. Drinking water is such an important part of keeping your mind and body healthy, and the amount of water we need may change from season to season. With the weather warming up, I wanted to focus on my water intake and check out techniques to keep cool and hydrated.  Here are some basic Ayurveda tips for drinking your H2O:
 
1. Sit down to drink (just as you should sit down to eat).
2. Sip, don’t gulp.
3. Drink water throughout the day. If you swallow too much water at once, your body doesn’t actually absorb all of it.
4. Drink water at room temperature. Warm is even better. Cold and iced water should be avoided
5. Drink from a glass container, not plastic. Not only does this reduce plastic waste but also allows you to avoid toxins which can leach from the plastic into the water, especially when left sitting in hot surfaces.
 
Another great resource on this subject is Kameko Shibata, from Nadi Girl Ayurveda.  She offers advice on how to stay hydrated and healthy, with the overall goal of balancing the elements in our bodies. Kameko also provides some interesting information on the importance of electrolytes and raw oils in our body hydration process.

Happy hydrating!

Celebrate Young Environmental Leaders - The Brower Youth Award

Do you know a 13 - 22 year old who wants to make the world a better place?  Earth Island Institute would like to know about them too.  
 
Every year Earth Island Institute’s New Leaders Initiative recognizes the leadership efforts of six young environmental activists from North America, ages 13 to 22, who are working for the protection of our shared planet. Earth Island Institute established The Brower Youth Award for Environmental Leadership in 2000 to honor renowned environmental advocate David Brower.
 
 Youth environmentalists are encouraged to apply. The applications are open and the deadline for submission is May 16, 2016.
 
 Each of the six recipients of the Brower Youth Awards will receive a $3,000 cash prize, a professionally produced short film about their work from an Emmy award winning film crew, and flight and lodging accommodations for a week long trip to the San Francisco Bay Area.
 
If you are or know of a young adult who should apply, hurry and get your applications in.  Thanks to Earth Island for inspiring us all to be of service to our community and our planet.

Now to the Garden

Whether you have a window box in your city apartment or acres of land, May is a great time to get into gardening. The temperatures are finally warming up, and the soil is perfect for sowing seeds (warmer soil allow for faster germination and growth).

Planting flowers and bulbs can be meditative and healing for the soul. And, like mindfulness, gardening takes work. It begins with a commitment to care for the garden and provide it with what it needs to grow.

Stay in the moment as you enjoy the sunshine, the dirt in your hands, and the sounds of the birds and insects that inhabit your garden area. If you are in the city, think of the smiles your flower or veggie box will bring to passersby. And if you’re lucky enough to have your own plot of land, take some time step back when you finish planting or weeding and admire the fruits of your labor.

If you are interested in what to plant in May, check out the Urban Farmer site:

If you are interested in planting vegetables in your garden this year a helpful site visit Grow Veg.

Be mindful as you plant and nurture your seeds, take time to connect to Mother Earth, and enjoy your time in the garden!

Cutting Down Sugar!

For the last few years, I have been on a journey to live in a cleaner life. Recently, I have been thinking more about my diet and the meals I prepare each day for myself and my family. We rarely eat fast food, never drink soda, gave up adding sugar to my coffee.  All a good start, but thought it was time to take a closer look at our modern diet.
 
A few days ago, I was on You Tube and stumbled upon “The Skinny on Obesity" with Dr. Lustig:. He speaks with passion about our sugar and carbohydrate obsession. Dr. Lustig believes sugar is the major culprit behind the country's obesity rates.  He is not concerned about sugars in fruit, but rather the sugars that come in processed foods.
 
So, this week I thought I would try to cut down on sugar and processed food. Not only is too much sugar and processed food harmful to our bodies, but all that packing and plastic is not good for our planet either.
 
One site I have found helpful is 100 Days of Real Food. Lisa Leake, offers simple, affordable, family-friendly recipes and practical advice for eliminating processed foods from your family's diet. She, her husband, and their two daughters pledged to go 100 days without eating highly processed or refined foods—a challenge she opened to readers on her blog. 100 Days seems too intense for me, so I thought I would start with the 10 Day Real Food Pledge .
 
If you would like to make changes to your diet, but are not ready to give up all processed food at once, the site also offers ways to slowly cut out processed food and recipe ideas.

Spring Cleaning: Home

Along with the sunshine and spending more time outdoors, spring inspires me to de-clutter, clean and de-own.

Cleaning up my personal space increases my productivity and mental clarity.  My family and I are getting ready to move  (again!) this summer, and I find myself not just needing to de-clutter but actually get rid of a lot of the items we have accumulated over the years.  With two kids, the stuff piles up quickly.  Toys, clothes, sporting equipment, etc.  I find that I spend much of my free time finding organizational tools to help store, stack and separate it all.  We are getting ready to move into a smaller space and I have been looking for ways to minimize my stuff and spending.  As I reorganize my space and toss out the things that are no longer useful or purposeful, I have been looking online for mindful inspiration in my Spring Cleaning process. 

One of my favorite blogs on this subject is “Becoming Minimalist.” In 2008, Joshua Becker, founder of Becoming Mimimalist, decided to live with fewer possessions, and blogged about his journey.  There is a lot of information on his blog, so I found it helpful to start here.

It’s time to spring clean at home and get more organized in life!

The View from Big Sur

It’s was spring break for my kids this week, and we decided to take a little road trip.  Living in Northern CA there is plenty to see and do close to home, and the rains this year have made the hills green again and beautiful to look at during the drive.  
 
This year our family decided to spend a couple days in Big Sur, CA, located about two hours south of San Francisco, on the coast of Central CA.  I’ve been to Big Sur many times and have to say that it is one of my favorite places on this earth.  Big Sur is relatively unspoiled. There are no urban areas, just a gas station, some restaurants and a few motels. Henry Miller spent time writng here in the 1940’s, and the Henry Miller Library is located in Big Sur as well as Esalan, the retreat center and hot springs. We did not take the kids to Esalan, but I want to go back to check out one of the amazing workshops on Mindfulnessor just enjoy the healing hot springs.
 
With the kids we spent most of your time hiking, checking out the waterfalls that are running full force, and hanging out at Pfieffer State beach. The sand is actually purple in spots, That’s right. Purple. Sand. Needless to say, that was a big hit with the kids. We had fun just driving up Highway 1 where you can pull over at a variety of Vistas and park your car. We even got a glimpse of a whale making its trip back north to Alaska during one stop. Big Sur has been a truly a spiritual experience where we surrounded ourselves with nature and, oh, those views.

Just for YOU

The resolutions we make are usually ambitious, not to mention difficult: eat healthier, start exercising, be more organized, lose weight…

YOU is a app that sends a reminder each day to make one small change.  YOU breaks down your goals into “micro” actions, one each day. You might receive a reminder to drink more water, or make someone smile. The goal to create a healthier, happier life, one action at a time.

I like the experts YOU features who provide daily actions for health, mindfulness, movement and, of course, food. For example, Jamie Oliver dishes up food-related content it gives me inspiration in the kitchen. Each micro-action is an easy-to-complete task that will help you build a healthier, happier life.  Try YOU and let me know what you think.
 

Eggzy - a mindful way to shop and sell eggs

Celebrating Easter this weekend with my family, we went through a lot of eggs! Between dying eggs and hiding eggs, I got to thinking about where eggs come from and how we consume them. There is a company I highlight on bemindful that focuses on eggs. Essentially, Eggzy is a marketplace where backyard chicken keepers can track their flock’s egg production, and people who are looking for local eggs can find them.

Flock owners enter information about their chickens and expenses into the system and then, each time they collect eggs, they enter the number of eggs into the system. Eggzy automatically calculates production rates and breakeven rates, simplifying pricing decisions.
 
Flock owners also create their own online “Egg Stand,” where they can tell their story in words, stats, and pictures and let friends and family know when and how many eggs are available.

Consumers can go to the Egg Stand listings and sort by zip code to find Egg Stands nearby. They can also subscribe to their favorite Egg Stands to be notified whenever eggs are available.
 

Eggzy’s tagline is "Eggzy is a movement to make our food system personal again," and it is a mindful way to do your egg shopping. Check it out Eggzy to find a flock near you.

Shedding the Weight, Mind, Body and Spirit with Oprah and Deepak

Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra
COURTESY OF OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK

Spring is here, and if you are looking to lose some winter weight and become more mindful at at the same time, check out the newest 21-Day meditation challenge from Deepak and Oprah. Shedding the Weight: Mind, Body and Spirit is the tenth meditation program from Oprah and Deepak and the 4th one in which I’ve participated. I like these programs because they are free, easy to use and provide such a wonderful source of inspiration for my meditation practice.
 
I started the 21 day challenge this week.  I’ve been feeling a little run down from the time change and I thought meditating would give me more energy during my day.  We are only on day 2, but I’m feeling better already.  I try to meditate first thing in the morning before the kids are up and business of the day has started. I have to admit, waking up at 6am has not been easy, but once I am up and start the day with Oprah and Deepak, I am grateful for this mediation.
 
You can still sign up for the challenge here.
 

How I Got Here

How I got here...
Over 15 years ago, a colleague went to see environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill when he was living in Luna in the Redwood Forest of Northern CA. On her way to see Julia, he saw this sign.

This image is what inspired my purchase the url, bemindful.com. Right now, the site is a collection of other sites and apps that I have visited that have helped me to live mindfully. Moving forward, I hope to add both more original content and additional finds from other mindful sites, blogs, products, organizations, ideas, individuals and events. 

Mindfulness is defined as full awareness, and is something I try to practice each day. I am not an expert by any means, but I am aware of its value and benefits.
 
I look to mindfulness to find inspiration, seeking calm and clarity in this crazy world of distractions.  As a parent of two small children, life is busy. It can be a struggle just to get myself and my kids out the door each morning..  One simple thing I do each day with my kids is to set a daily intention.  It can be as simple as saying "have a a great day," or " be happy ", as we pause by the front door of our house on the way to school in the morning.  It is one simple way to connect as a family and bring a little mindfulness to the start of our day.
 
 
 More coming on the be mindful blog soon!
 
In the mean time, if you would like to suggest mindful sites, you can email me at info@bemindful.com