Tag archives: mindfulness
Taking a mindful pause is one of the most important tenets of Relational Mindfulness, according to Deborah Eden Tull, the veteran meditation and mindfulness teacher who wrote a 2018 book of the same name. Even so, it was almost surprising when it took a moment for the words to emerge in response to a question […]
It might seem counterintuitive to consider as a spiritual practice a healing modality that looks like it largely consists of massage-like touch with a little bit of talking. The Rosen Method, after all, was developed in the early 1980s by a former physical therapist named Marion Rosen. The bodywork is based on the concept that […]
By his own admission, Dave Mochel was a victim of restlessness, boredom, frustration, anxiety, fear, and anger and suffered such debilitating anxiety in his mid-20s that he could barely leave the house. Now he runs Applied Attention, a Carpinteria-based mindfulness consulting company that teaches people simple and powerful practices to focus thoughts in ways that […]
The Mind and Supermind series from SBCC School of Extended Learning (aka Adult Ed) has a 35-year history of presenting dynamic speakers and accomplished authors on cutting-edge topics of human psychology in all of its facets and implications. Among the previous speakers over the years have been Deepak Chopra, Byron Katie (creator of The Work), […]
Mindfulness as a valuable human practice has been popular in the west at least since Ram Dass penned “Be Here Now” in 1971 and the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh wrote his series of teachings of the subject. In recent years, scientific studies at Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, and elsewhere have proven that a consistent mindfulness […]
It might be obvious to state that Thanksgiving week could be the perfect time to launch a gratitude practice. The holiday stress can be greatly reduced by remembering all that we are grateful for in our lives. But research and plenty of anocdotal evidence has indicated that a daily practice of not only taking note […]
Joan Halifax is the rare Zen Buddhist visionary whose background and education traverses Western and Eastern practices and study, and it’s an astonishing background that has brought her to where she is today. Among the many early accomplishments of the activist, author, caregiver, teacher, and Zen Buddhist priest, who will be the subject of the […]
We’ve all done it. Opened a bag of chips or cookies intending to eat only a handful, and ended up polishing off the bag. Had that second helping when lingering tableside with company, or scarfed a chocolate bar – or two! – in the aftermath of bad news. Mindlessly eating to chase away boredom or […]
Last year, Michael Russer and his partner, Jacqueline Lopez, created Entheomedicine Santa Barbara to bring expertise on the health and spiritual benefits of medicine journeys to the community. Now they’re diving into something even more valuable, and much easier on the systerm, than those chemically induced experiences: a process for awareness and connection they call […]
Nearly everyone has a relationship they’d like to, ahem, adjust, perhaps wrangling with a romantic partner, sorting out sibling situations, still feeling frustration over family foibles, or maybe handling conflict with a co-worker. But transforming relationships starts with making changes in ourselves, says Crystal Stokes, who has offered transpersonal/spiritual psychology and coaching in Santa Barbara […]
Meditation is much more than mindfulness, and a deeper state a more readily available through the body, says Timothy Tillman, M.A., CHT, a now Santa Barbara-based Somatic and Hakomi therapist who also leads weekly meditation gatherings at both a yurt at his Mission Canyon home and at Yoga Soup. Tillman – who is also a […]
H.E. Sakya Dagmola returns to Santa Barbara for a weekend retreat “The Essential Meaning of Ngondro, Preliminary Practices in Tibetan Buddhism”, this weekend April 14-15. Dagmola, who is a senior teacher and acting head Lama of Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in Seattle – which was one of the first dharma centers in the West […]
Sunburst Sanctuary scheduled its popular annual silent meditation retreat long before the flames and flood afflicted Montecito and environs. And while our chatter-filled minds make it seem like staying quiet for a weekend could be cause for anxiety, perhaps quiet contemplation in the community is the perfect elixir for these challenging circumstances. Whatever the impetus, […]
