Practicing Presence The core of practicing presence is discovering peace inside ourselves and with others by embracing the present moment. My interest in presence started early, even before I understood it formally. While some people seek mindfulness to reduce stress, others practice presence to connect spiritually. For me, practicing presence means experiencing peace and the …
Many face bad news and unexpected changes that deeply impact their lives. For me, May 2026 looms with apprehension and fear. Global events and personal upheavals weigh on me. Family job changes, an international move, and loved ones’ health diagnoses leave me exposed and powerless. While I can’t control events, I can choose my response. …
Honouring Ourselves Through Life’s Transitions: Using Grace as our Container Life’s transitions—from birth and childhood to adulthood and death—shape us and offer continual chances for self-honouring. Meeting each change with grace brings self-respect and purpose. Embracing impermanence—anicca, as the Buddha called it—reveals life’s flow and underscores honouring ourselves through every transition. To explore this further, …
Making Peace With Our Judgment – Part 2 The last blog looked at how our discernment is fact-based and objective, while our judgment is emotionally charged and formed by negative narratives. Further, we believe our thoughts and identify with them. Once this occurs, we begin to spiral. For example, if someone passes you by without greeting …
Take a gentle breath and settle in as you read. Allow yourself a moment of kindness. Have you ever caught yourself stuck in judgment, turning a passing judgment into a story built on little evidence? This often becomes self-criticism. If you relate, you’re not alone; everyone faces judgment and self-criticism. Noticing this creates room for …
Breath connects us—within, to others, and to ancestors. Our breathing shows our physical and emotional states. For instance, shallow chest breathing links to anxiety. Breath and anxiety affect each other. This can create cycles that worsen over time. We cannot control all triggers. However, we can control our response. Mindful breathing reduces reactivity and stress. …
Cultivating Gentle Awareness Unexpected changes and pressure can trigger overwhelm or helplessness. You are not alone in this experience. The essential message is that cultivating gentle awareness—intentionally observing your experiences with kindness and non-judgment—empowers you to navigate difficulties with greater clarity and resilience. Practicing gentle awareness acts as a steady anchor in uncertain times and …
Holding Grief In our daily experiences, whether pursued or not, we encounter many challenges. Some are more painful than others. Some are external and seem beyond our control. Recently, my beloved family and I faced a sudden loss—the loss of our dear Beni, a wonderfully spirited fur-baby, Morky, which has brought us great suffering. Naturally, …
STOP an MBSR exercise. This is an invitation to pause as often as you can in your daily life, in various ways. I love the saying: “You are not a human doing but a human being.” Stepping away from our automatic habits gives us space to explore our beingness. Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us that …
KEEP CALM: Calm is the space between our reactions. This week, our posts on OurMindful.Life.Now borrow from the British posters entitled KEEP CALM AND…. This slogan, coined as a symbol of stoicism, was produced in 1939 by the British Government to motivate its population at the start of WWII. British relatives who lived through the …