There’s an iconic scene in the movie There’s Something About Mary in which Ben Stiller picks up a sketchy hitchhiker played by Harland Williams. Williams tells Stiller about a groundbreaking idea he’s had. “You heard of this thing, the eight minute abs?” he asks. “This is going to blow that right out of the water. Listen to this: seven minute…
I live north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the hills of the wine country, and as I write, the year is turning. I feel my heart turning too, and opening with the apricot blossoms as they begin to come out. Last week there were floods, an atmospheric river passed over us, and also a sudden cold with rare, wondered…
“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” -Amit Ray It sounds so simple, childlike even, to say “just breathe.” You would think in the territory of suffering that our first best move might be something extraordinary, a momentous act, like “dial this number to directly reach the appropriate divine being,” or…
I recently spoke to Jamie Bristow, Director of The Mindfulness Initiative—a charitable policy institute which works with politicians in the UK and internationally to explore the case for mindfulness-based programs across a range of spheres of public policy. Dan Nixon: Jamie, the intersection of mindfulness and policymaking must be a fascinating area to work in. Can you tell me a…
What does it mean to ground your leadership in a mindful awareness of what’s going on around you? Striking the balance between mindfulness and effectiveness can be hard to do, but with coaching and a deliberate understanding of the psychology of awareness, effects can reach all levels of the workforce. Rich Fernandez is the CEO of the Search Inside Yourself…
As I write this, another holiday season is passing into memory while the current year expires and a new one waits to be born. With the Winter Solstice just past, the days are once again lengthening even as they turn colder in the long months before the green pulse of spring quickens and growth returns to the land. This particular…
It is no accident that “love the work” is the first practice of a mindful leader. The work of mindfulness practice begins with love, with deep caring. Love is where body, mind, and heart come together. Love is more than an idea and more than a feeling. “Love the work” is an instruction that is surprisingly practical; it can help…
The trail through the snow was easy enough to follow at night, without a flashlight to show the way. Pausing occasionally, I’d wait until my eyes could discern the subtly darker shadow that snaked through a stand of fir and pine: a trail carved by my boots and supplemented by occasional moose, maybe elk or coyote. On the blackest nights,…