Wishing you a Mindful Mother’s Day! Whether you are spending time with your Mother, with your children, with your spouse, with your friends, with your pets, at work, time alone, or all of the above, you may find the following meditation practice helpful in experiencing greater joy and peace, no matter what your mothering experiences have been. This practice can be particularly helpful for those who have some pain associated with motherhood, perhaps loss of a mother or loss of a child, or painful relationship issues.

This is the practice of Metta, which means Lovingkindness. What better way to describe the qualities of true mother-nature? Loving…kind…nurturing. To begin the meditation, take several slow deep breaths and let go of mental and physical tension on each outbreath. Make a conscious choice to set aside judgments, release all past stories about being a mother or having a mother and embrace the qualities of this meditation, even if it is just for now.

This abbreviated version of the original Metta meditation is simple, sweet, and powerful. We start by mothering ourselves, blessing ourselves with lovingkindness so that we have lovingkindness to share.

Slowly and peacefully, say silently or out loud:

May I be safe.
May I be happy.
May I be well.
May I be free.
Read more of Mother’s Day Mindfulness Meditation

I came across this site this weekend and thought you might enjoy. Founder Mike Dooley says “Thoughts Become Things – choose the good ones!” Members believe that LIFE is the ultimate adventure because in the jungles of time and space our thoughts become things and dreams do come true!

In many households, frazzled Thanksgiving cooks (Grandma comes to mind) put out a relish tray to keep hungry but idle hands out of the kitchen. These trays are loaded with goodies, each tucked into its own compartment: pimento-stuffed green olives, whole black olives little ones canstick on their fingertips before eating, radishes, celery stuffed with peanut butter or cream cheese, carrot sticks, equal portions of two kinds of pickles (sweet and dill) so there’s no fighting….

Here’s our recipe for a Thanksgiving relish tray:
A spoonful of Mindfulness
A dollop of Awareness
Equal portions of Family Dynamics and Deep Breaths
Lots of little Inner Smiles
A heaping portion of Blessings
Serve on a platter of Gratitude and Love

TheKitchn.com has some great ideas for updating Grandma’s Relish Tray

Phoebe Chongchua, Editor of LifeFitMagazine.com, spoke with Brook around New Year’s about Setting Intentions.  You can listen to the interview here and learn some strategies to gain clarity, joy and meaning in your life!  Self Improvement never seemed like so much fun!

If you are ready to re-vision your life and need some coaching, you can experience Brook’s work by listening in on Ring In 2009!  Any day is a good day for personal growth!

Thinking of making New Year’s Resolutions? Think again.

The most popular thing to do at New Years (besides drinking champagne) is probably to Make Resolutions. You tell yourself, your friends and your family (and if you’ve overdone it on champagne, perfect strangers!) that next year you’ll do it DIFFERENTLY. Next year, you really are going to lose those extra 20 pounds, even if you have to starve yourself to do it. For a time you stick to your plan. You diet, you join the gym and you lose some weight. Somewhere between Valentine’s Day and June, you lose your momentum. Summer rolls around and you beat up on yourself for not sticking to the diet and you dread putting on a swimsuit. Somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas you realize you really did eat that whole plate of cookies and you swear to fast until New Years so you don’t end the year without losing a single pound! Now it’s New Years Eve and you hate the sense of failure to meet your “resolution”, so you try to muster up some confidence to try again next year. (Maybe this contributes to the amount of champagne consumed on New Year’s Eve!)

Instead of making resolutions, what if you Set Intentions for 2009? Read more of Don’t Make Any Resolutions Till You Read This!

Here’s what one participant said of yesterday’s class – Wring Out 2008!

“I love the call!  I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  I felt like I wanted to spend much more time on the different portions of the exercise.  So, today, I’m going to go through it all again, be more present and go slow where I feel the need and fast otherwise.  It was really cool to hear what others had to say.  I’m Really looking forward to the next conference call.  Thank you so much!”

Did you participate in Wring Out 2008?  During the tele-class there was limited time for sharing, so here is your opportunity! 

What are you most relieved about leaving behind from 2008?  How are you changed by the experience of forgiving, accepting and releasing?  What insights or lessons will you carry forward into the New Year?  Be the Change!  What are you celebrating about 2008?

The time between Thanksgiving and New Years can be a whirlwind of activity, when shopping trips take three times as long as usual and every joyful cookie exchange means an extra hour or two in the kitchen.  Mindfully choosing your activities can keep you grounded in the moment, but to truly enjoy the holiday (or any) season, you also need to create space for…nothing.  When was the last time you turned off the television, turned off the list making in your brain, and simply sat on your couch?

I invite you to think about Mindful InActivity.  Taking time to be quiet, to reflect and recharge, will deepen your enjoyment of the season and your contribution to those around you.  It will also help you enter the New Year with a fresh perspective and clear vision of things to come.  What does it really look like, this mythical quiet time during the holiday season?

Read more of Mindful Holidays, Part II

Did you ever try to remember details about past holidays and find that they all blur together?   When I noticed this, I realized it was partly because my family celebrated exactly the same way every year.   More importantly, I recognized my tendency to become less mindful as I got caught up in the busyness and activities of the season.  I seemed to go into ‘auto-pilot’ mode where I let myself be swept away by the tide of traditions and family expectations.  

That’s when I decided to be more mindful and create something uniquely memorable about each holiday.  To do this, I needed to SLOW DOWN so that I could consciously consider and wisely select each holiday activity.  And I needed to remember to be more fully present for each activity that was so carefully chosen.  This process of Mindful Holidays, the conscious choice of activities and participation in my own unique way, was quite liberating. With mindfulness, I am less concerned about appearances, judgments or expectations.  Not only have the holidays become more memorable, but they’ve also become a lot more fun.

Read more of Mindful Holidays, Part I

This is the season when we are reminded to give thanks.  In the whirlwind of family events, how do we take time for mindful gratitude?  One way is with a Gratitude Journal, a special book devoted to listing the things, large and small, that enrich our lives.  If you have one that you’ve been neglecting, now is a great time to revisit it.  If you don’t, consider finding a few quiet moments each day to list ten things you are grateful for.  Choosing to focus on your gratitude list first thing in the morning creates a positive outlook for your whole day. Read more of Gratitude

I’m glad you’ve found my blog!  Here you’ll find inspiration and guidance for everyday mindfulness.  As a life coach, I work with clients to develop positive patterns of thought so they can get the results they want out of their lives.  My goal here is to provide readers with some of the same tools.  This blog will help you create a life that matches your inner truth, goes beyond ego struggles, and rests more peacefully in the present moment.  I’ll address relationship issues, spirituality, a mindful approach to social and environmental issues, career issues, health and wellness and simply staying present in your daily life.  Enjoy!