I just realized this will be my last entry for 2013.* As my social media feeds fill up with Top 10 Lists, I thought I’d pause at the end of the year and offer my own. Since my blog is still fairly new (this is just my 18th post), I don’t think I have enough material within the blog to look internally, so instead I’ll just offer my Top 10 Mindful Things for 2013. And yes, “Things” is intentionally broad to allow for variety.
10. A meditation cushion in my office, which I use to get out of my desk chair during brief meditation breaks (I like the change in location and perspective, but it’s not necessary.)
9. The Mindfulness app, which I set to gently chime at me throughout the day to ask “What’s going on around you right now?” and “How does the water feel on your skin in the shower?” and other notices to periodically bring me back to here and now
8. The book On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz, which is a lovely book that gave me several new lenses to appreciate the world around me
Alexandra Horowitz's 4-minute introduction to On Looking
7. This simple, 5-minute meditation, which has the soothing audio of a bell and video of liquid blue waves…aaaaaahhhhhhhhh
Click the image to play.
6. The book Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now by Douglas Rushkoff, which is helping me refine my understanding of “here” and “now”–and so much more. (I’ll write about it in future posts.)
5. A weekly mindful meditation practice I’ve started at my workplace, which is no more than 15 minutes, and folks just drop in if they can make it
Yes, this is really my door sign. Click image to download a printable version.
4. The mindfulness-teacher training group I meet with weekly, which is not pictured below 🙂
The Beatles with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, not my MTT group.
3. Mindful magazine, which never fails to give me good ideas and good new practices
2. The image of a snow globe, which led to my “click!” moment of understanding mindfulness
My snow globe at home
1. Writing this blog, which gives me the opportunity and the discipline to keep making connections between my mindful life and my work life
Fantastic logo by colleague Rhett McDaniel
Practice
I don’t think I’ve shared #7 here until now, so let’s do that as our practice this week. Just click the image and follow the instructions on the screen–and then replay it once you’re familiar with it.
Click the image to play.
—
* I’m going to take next week off for Christmas, but I’ll be back on January 1 or 2.
