Click here to see a beautiful film.

I’d never heard of Louis Schwartzburg before watching his presentation as a TED speaker (Technology, Education, Design). There, I saw his film, Gratitude. It reminded me to feel profoundly grateful to be on this earth. I was also that he captured and so generously shared this work. It made me leave my computer and get outside, that very minute.

Even though I wasn’t familiar with his name, I learned that I was familiar with his work, and you probably are, too.  Did you see E.T., American Beauty, or Men In Black?  He’s also worked with DisneyNature and National Geographic. Louis has many short films online, and available for (surprisingly inexpensive) download on his website, Moving Art.

I went to his website and just watched Wings of Life. Now I must leave this computer, again, and go spend time outdoors. I don’t want to miss the live performance.

Thank you, Louie Schwartzberg 🙂

I miss my dear east coast ones terribly, but here’s one more thing I found living in California that I’d never find in the DC area.

“Learn the basics of Asian tea while deepening your mindfulness practice and using the words of tea masters, poets, and classmates to inspire your creative practice.” ~Mindful Writer

My breathing and heartbeat slow when i even contemplate this. And the corners of my mouth turn up. 😀

Thank you, Moms
by Melinda Bennington

Thank you, Moms:
The one who created me;
Who gave birth to and read to me;
Who held me;
Moms who helped me,
Who raised friends with whom I played,
Studied, and learned;
Moms who fed me;
Moms who asked good questions.
Thank you, Mum
Who raised the man I love, and
The ones who helped.

Thank you Moms
Who love
The children they’ve had
And haven’t.

Thank you, Moms
Who had babies with me,
Took turns with me,
Coaching, room-parenting,
Carpooling, and cheering,
being the parent there, in case;
Thank you, Moms,
Who kept one child while
I took the other to the ER,
Moms at the bus stop,
Moms in the neighborhood,
Moms at school.

Thank you, Moms
Whose kids had already
Had whooping cough and bothered
To tell me about the steamy shower.

Thank you, Moms
Who shared tapes and photos,
Called to say you were late to work, stuck
Driving behind my son going the speed limit;
Thank you Moms who really were
At the party;
Who prayed with me
For our children,
For their safety,
For guidance, for the right people
To be put along the paths
That are their own.

Thank you, Moms
Who raised peacemakers,
Teachers, rascals
And saints.

Thank you, Moms
Whose love surrounds those
On distant shores, in
Perilous places;
Moms who say:
You can do it
If you practice and work hard;
What’s plan B?
Tell me about it;
Be well;
Have fun!
I love you.

Thank you, Moms
Who say
It’s one more part of life;
What an adventure this has been.

© Melinda Bennington

Mindfulness requires no particular time zone or cultural beliefs. Research supports the benefits of secular mindfulness, as you’ll see below. It consists of contemplation, reflection, and observation. These universal human practices can improve concentration and, historically, have been employed in science, social relationships, leadership, diverse religions, arts, and many other areas of life. You may hear these discussed, but at its essence, as practiced in schools, and supported by research around the world, mindfulness is quite pure.

The secret is, it’s as simple as eating a grape. Or taking a shower. Or just breathing.

Mindfulness is practiced internationally. It’s taught in some California schools. Maybe that doesn’t surprise you :-D. But did you know there are also mindful public, private and charter schools in eleven other US states? Mindfulness is taught in Vancouver, Canada public schools. (See what kids have to say about mindfulness, in their own handwriting!)  There’s evidence supporting mindfulness from the program at the University of Massachusetts, where mindfulness research in the US started, to UCLA, to Australia’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program. It’s studied from the point of view of many disciplines – Education, Business, Medicine, and Neuroscience, among others.


Through Dr. Amy Saltzman’s Still Quiet Place curriculum training, I studied and interacted with mindfulness practitioners from around the world. I’m so grateful for this warm, professional international mindfulness community, which shares practices, resources, and experiences. SQP training helped me improve my skills in teaching mindfulness to children, and sustained my own mindfulness practice, in a wonderfully supportive milieu. It’s been such a treat! This week several of us (from Russia, Portugal, California) who completed class together had our own video-conference. We’ll meet again at another hour convenient for our Australian and Chinese colleagues, and elsewhere. 

There has been significant research in the last thirty years demonstrating that mindfulness practice can produce increased density in areas of the brain associated with learning, memory, and introspection, and decreases in areas of anxiety and stress. In addition, there is a greater sense of well being, and decrease in distress associated with pain and physical limitations. Mindfulness has been shown to be an effective tool with eating disorders, and can even increase our bodies’ antibody response to flu vaccine!

“Mindfulness training has shown preliminary evidence of efficacy in the  treatment of psoriasis, type 2 diabetes, sleep disturbance, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other conditions…” including eating disorders. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008

In case you’d like to try it, (or just examine it), I’ll share some mindfulness resources from time to time.

For now, I’m just looking closely, breathing deeply, noticing…

😀

Tonight the “Supermoon” may be thirty percent brighter than all the other full moons of 2012. Supermoon explained – NASA

That’s what I’m watching tonight, over Folsom Lake, along with the man I love, and some other folks. We might even howl at the full moon.

Where will your travels take you? May it be a beautiful night for all. 🙂

I’m finishing up a wonderful class, taught by Dr. Amy Saltzman, MD., called Still Quiet Place ~ Mindfulness for Children, to improve my mindful teaching skills. The registration materials said the class provides training in the Still Quiet Place curriculum which Dr. Amy has used in California schools. It did that beautifully, but also offered so much more.

One of the secrets to good teaching is mastery of the content – the stuff you want to teach. Amy’s expertise in this area is irreproachable. She is a highly respected professional in this field. As a physician who expanded her practice to include holistic medical care, she understands the science and humanity of truly caring for people. Her work is based on thirty years of research. She cares well for adults, including those of us in her class, but it is her work with, and on behalf of children that brought me to her class.

Dr. Amy Saltzman’s Still Quiet Place cd’s for children and teens were among the first mindfulness resources I posted here. Watching her actually teach the material, and respond to issues children spontaneously bring up, is watching a master practitioner at work.

I will post more on what it’s like being in a class with dedicated practitioners from around the country, and the world. But for now, Welcome:

Welcome, soft, grey doves, 

My brain is blessed. I’m in my last week of our amazing Still Quiet Place mindfulness class, the week after the Northern California Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference!


Cognitive load, but in a good way 🙂


To my writer friends at home and in California, and fellow SQP practitioners, thank you for the poetry of many minds.

So… these are the kinds of cards you get after your shoulder makes a funny “pop!” sound.

I am so grateful for loving friends. And especially, their senses of humor.
🙂

You don’t get to pick everything that picks you.

But you do get to pick the cards.

And where the cards others choose for you go.

This film, “Validation”,  is a short film about free parking. Well, ostensibly about free parking. It’s actually about a lot more than that. I never saw this in a theatre, but the silver lining is, it won the award!  

A wonderful short film on YouTube; today’s gift to make you smile 🙂