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The Secret to Sustaining a Meditation Practice: Structure
Jeff Warren
,
December 27, 2019
The most important element for sustaining a meditation practice isn’t what practice to do, or how to do it. It’s how to show up, day after day. It’s structure.
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December
The Secret to Sustaining a Meditation Practice: Structure

It's the Turn of the Decade and Times are Tough
Jay Michaelson
,
December 18, 2019
Well, this decade didn’t turn out how we expected.I don’t think any of us, at the start of the 2010s, thought that the decade to come would be defined by so much terrifying news, so much anxiety, and so much division in our society. It’s been a sobering few years.
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December
It's the Turn of the Decade and Times are Tough

Stop Being Afraid of Fear
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
,
November 29, 2019
Most of us are unaware of the extent of the fear that we carry. Fear builds upon itself, or more precisely, fear creates more fear. As a result, our accumulated fear becomes a deep-seated terror that is challenging to uproot. We constantly speak of terrorism in the world, but we don't necessarily acknowledge the terror that has invaded our inner worlds. Many of us are afraid of fear, and afraid of admitting, even to ourselves, that we feel it. We push back the visceral, embodied experience of fear so effectively we think we have eliminated the fear itself.
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November
Stop Being Afraid of Fear

New Books That We Think You'll Love
derek@10percenthappier.com
,
November 27, 2019
The gift-giving season is here! And what better way to say “I love you” than to give someone in your life the gift of happiness, sanity, and wisdom? Of course, one way to do that is to buy them all subscriptions to the Ten Percent Happier app. But if you’re looking for a more physically-tangible gift of wisdom, it just so happens that our teachers have published a shelf-ful of new books this year.
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November
New Books That We Think You'll Love

How to Feel More Grateful
Dan Harris
,
November 21, 2019
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, because cultivating gratitude is one of the best ways to increase our own happiness, and consequently that of the people around us.And yet, these days, sometimes gratitude gets a bad rap.One of the most irritating cultural developments in recent years has been the whole #blessed phenomenon -- as if taking a selfie in front of your private jet and posting it online with #blessed is a way to practice gratitude.
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November
How to Feel More Grateful

The Deep End
Jay Michaelson
,
November 12, 2019
We’ve received hundreds of messages asking for “deep end” content in the app, as well as at IRL retreats and events, and we’re hard at work developing that.What’s funny about my own story is that I got into the deep end first.
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November
The Deep End

Is it Self-Centered to Meditate?
Mark Coleman
,
November 5, 2019
There’s a cliché out there that mindfulness is self-centered. Which is strange because all contemplative traditions say that one’s ethical conduct, both in our personal relationships and in working to improve the lives of others, is an essential part of the path.At the same time, there is some truth to the cliché. When I started meditating over thirty five years ago, I was consumed with hopes and worries. I spent a lot of time reflecting on what I was doing with my time, judging myself for not being good enough, and worrying that I wouldn’t amount to anything. All thoughts wrapped up in myself.
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November
Is it Self-Centered to Meditate?

The Difference Between Pain and Suffering
Sebene Selassie
,
October 29, 2019
This may sound weird, but meditation has taught me that you can have joy even when you have pain.In the beginning, most of us start meditating to eliminate our pain. I know I did. I wanted to get rid of my sadness and fear. But meditation doesn’t eliminate pain -- it eliminates suffering.What’s the difference?
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October
The Difference Between Pain and Suffering

When Monsters Attack (for real)
Jay Michaelson
,
October 22, 2019
My Halloween monsters showed up early this year.It was a few weeks ago, right before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. My daughter, nearing two years of age, entered a nasty “sleep regression,” which is basically when toddlers forget everything they know about how to sleep and spend the night resisting, howling, fighting, needing attention, and running around like the Energizer bunny on methamphetamine.
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October
When Monsters Attack (for real)

Maintaining Hope in Hard Times
Sharon Salzberg
,
October 16, 2019
It can be hard to have hope these days.On the one hand, we all want to feel hopeful. Hope encourages us to look forward confidently, and we may expect hope itself is necessary for us to get what we desire. Often when someone succeeds despite the odds, admirers say, “She never gave up hope.” In this way, hope is also a refuge, akin to having faith.On the other hand, we live in such difficult times that I have heard from many people that they feel almost frightened or foolish to hope that things in their world will be better.
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October
Maintaining Hope in Hard Times

Three Tools for More Effective Communication
Oren Jay Sofer
,
October 11, 2019
Human communication is complex. There are a myriad of factors in any interaction. Our emotions, ideas, and beliefs come into play both verbally and nonverbally. We have to negotiate patterns of relating that have been established, whether between two individuals or between the groups and communities to which we belong.Yet, in all of this, there are certain consistent foundations to skillful communication.
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October
Three Tools for More Effective Communication

Be Your Own Mom
Diana Winston
,
October 1, 2019
When my daughter is upset, anxious, or angry, my job as a parent is to hold her in a loving presence. I don’t have to fix her emotion, give her advice, tell her not to be sad, or take the pain away. My job is simply be there for her.The same is often true in meditation—except for myself.
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October
Be Your Own Mom

Stop Seeking
Jay Michaelson
,
September 24, 2019
If you’re into yoga, travel, philosophy, meditation, or any number of other pursuits, you might sometimes get called a “seeker.” A seeker of truth, or experiences, or happiness – but a seeker. Someone looking for something. Which is funny, because when it comes to authentic happiness, you actually have to stop seeking.
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September
Stop Seeking

Why Meditate?
Yael Shy
,
September 18, 2019
No matter how long you’ve been meditating, or even if you’ve never meditated at all, it’s inevitable that you’ll ask, especially at a difficult moment: what’s the point? Why meditate?
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September
Why Meditate?

Training Yourself To Monotask
nico hase
,
September 10, 2019
Did you know multitasking is the devil? It's true. And there's research to prove it.
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September
Training Yourself To Monotask

Where Should I Meditate?
Jay Michaelson
,
September 5, 2019
One of the most frequent questions we get at Ten Percent Happier is where to meditate. I’m going to answer it.
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September
Where Should I Meditate?

Why Money Can't Buy You Happiness (According to Science)
Sonja Lyubomirsky
,
August 29, 2019
Can money buy you happiness? If you’re reading this blog, you probably expect me to say no. On the other hand, I suspect that many of us, deep down, think that it can. Certainly, that belief is promoted by our culture. And if not money, then what about a relationship, or success, or achievement?In fact, years of research have shown that none of these provide lasting happiness, in large part due to a powerful force that psychologists call hedonic adaptation.
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August
Why Money Can't Buy You Happiness (According to Science)

Enjoy the View -- Not the Commentary
Arnie Kozak
,
August 20, 2019
Here’s the scene: I am standing on top of an overlook in the foothills of the Green Mountains. I can see a 180-degree vista to the West that features the Adirondacks, tinged in pink, as the sun gets ready to set. Vermont’s famous Camel’s Hump sits majestically to the south.My mind, however, is not appreciating this beautiful experience, at least not consistently so, because I am frustrated and disappointed in myself. I want to get some pictures of this awesome scene, but I have forgotten my phone and thus have no camera.
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August
Enjoy the View -- Not the Commentary

Forcing the Breath
Jay Michaelson
,
August 12, 2019
One of my most frequent meditation habits is forcing the breath.You may have experienced something similar. You sit down, you say “okay, time to meditate,” and that translates into taking big breaths, or rapid breaths, or otherwise forced, artificial breaths that are surprisingly easy to follow… only not so surprising, because you’ve made them impossible to miss by faking it.
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August
Forcing the Breath

Love in the Midst of Violence
Sharon Salzberg
,
August 6, 2019
We are living in difficult times, and this has been a difficult week.Fear and anxiety are always part of life, but these days, people commonly tell me they wake up in a funk, tossed into sleeplessness by a refrain of fear. We fear the violence that we see every day, and in horrifying events like the shootings last week. We fear chaos. We fear being consigned to the category of people in this world who don’t count. We fear the kind of hatred spilling out through Western societies.Increasingly, people tell me they even fear the kind of hatred spilling from their own hearts.
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August
Love in the Midst of Violence

How to Not Meditate
Devon Hase
,
July 30, 2019
For years, meditation was one more activity I packed into my busy day.It was yet another thing to check off my to-do list, like going to the gym or buying groceries. I would skid into my meditation session, set a timer, and dutifully bring my attention back to my breath, again and again, with a kind of grim determination. It was really not that much fun at all.I was, in other words, bringing my everyday habits to the cushion. My overdrive, my overachieving, my over-everything. Then, a few years ago, I hit a wall.
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July
How to Not Meditate

What Does “Progress” Look Like?
Jay Michaelson
,
July 23, 2019
As of this moment, I still don’t know where my wallet is.I’m pretty sure that by the time you read this, I will have found it. But as I’m writing these words, I have no [expletive] idea where my [expletive] wallet is. Maybe the baby put it somewhere. Maybe I put it somewhere so the baby couldn’t get it. I don’t know. All I know is that I was almost late to my meeting with Dan Harris because I couldn’t get out of the house.
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July
What Does “Progress” Look Like?

The Science of Stress
Dan Harris
,
July 16, 2019
Stress is part of evolution’s brilliance. It motivated us to run away from lions in the jungle. It’s your body’s way of trying to keep you safe.The problem is, in today’s concrete jungle, we’re stressed out not by lions but by traffic jams, overflowing inboxes, and an insufficient number of Instagram likes. All of which our bodies treat as emergencies, What can we do about that?
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July
The Science of Stress

How to be a Better Listener
Oren Jay Sofer
,
July 15, 2019
“You’re not listening!” my friend Jeremy shouted in frustration.We were standing in his kitchen and Jeremy was upset. Though I can’t remember the details, what I do remember is that he was right: I was only half-listening. I was waiting for him to finish so I could explain my perspective. Even though I was completely silent, making eye contact, and hearing every word, Jeremy could sense that I wasn’t really taking it in. I was building my case, preparing to defend myself.
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July
How to be a Better Listener

How Nature Changes the Mind
Diana Winston
,
July 1, 2019
Summertime, especially around the Fourth of July, is a time many of us in North America spend outdoors. It actually can be a hard time to sit indoors and meditate, because it’s so beautiful outside. Fortunately, being in nature can, itself, be a doorway to a valuable and refreshing capacity of mind that I call “natural awareness.”
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July
How Nature Changes the Mind

What Does Mindfulness Have to do with Pride Month?
Jay Michaelson
,
June 25, 2019
Pride Month is a funny thing. Of course, its main focus is on sexual and gender minorities; folks who don’t fit into the majority’s boxes of male, female, heterosexual, or cisgender. This week, after all, is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion, a crucial turning point in the contemporary LGBTQ rights movement. But in recent years, Pride has become a holiday for everyone.
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June
What Does Mindfulness Have to do with Pride Month?

Edge vs. Edgy?
Dan Harris
,
June 18, 2019
Before I started meditating, I assumed meditation would hinder my ability to compete in the sometimes cutthroat world of TV news. And also that I might be required to wear yoga pants to the office. I have come to believe that, applied correctly, mindfulness enhances rather than erodes your edge – by which I mean, your ability to take on challenging work at home or in the office with rigor, intelligence, and effectiveness.But I know there are many people who still have similar concerns.
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June
Edge vs. Edgy?

Why I Meditate
Sebene Selassie
,
June 11, 2019
I don’t know what I’d do without a meditation practice. These days, after many years, it’s a regular habit. But it wasn’t always that way. For years I tried to cultivate a regular practice, but I found it hard to stick to a routine. It was easier to hit snooze, or get up off my cushion before the timer went off, or skip the weekly gathering at the Zendo.But I had an incentive: I was a hot mess.
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June
Why I Meditate

Meditation and Climate Change
Jay Michaelson
,
June 4, 2019
Every week, I hear from students and friends who are deeply fearful, anxious, and angry about global warming. For those informed about the issue, it’s not an abstraction; it threatens the lives our children will be able to lead, not to mention those of folks already caught in natural disasters exacerbated by global climate disruption.If you’ve experienced any of that fear, anxiety, and anger, please read on, because I’ve found mindfulness to be a valuable ally in staying sane, staying engaged, and making a difference -- whatever your political and philosophical opinions.
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June
Meditation and Climate Change

The Risk of Honesty
Koshin Paley Ellison
,
May 28, 2019
A friend of mine works with a writer who constantly misses deadlines. In terms of work, it’s actually not that big of a deal, because my friend knows this about the writer, and course-corrects by giving him deadlines that are weeks prior to when my friend actually needs something turned in.The challenges arise not because of the lateness, but because the writer can’t seem to accept this shortcoming about himself. He writes long emails with excuses as to why he’s late again—imaginative stories that my friend knows aren’t true.
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May
The Risk of Honesty

Is Your Mind an Amusement Park?
Grace Livingston
,
May 21, 2019
When some people hear about meditation, they may imagine that it’s a cool, calm chill-out with no distracting thoughts or feelings disturbing the Zen. And then, since that’s not what anyone actually experiences, lots of people become convinced that they can’t meditate because their minds are so busy and distracted.The truth is, though, distractions happen! Whether out in the world or seated in meditation, the mind will pretty much always find something to do - and it’s not always going to do the thing we might hope. What can you do?
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May
Is Your Mind an Amusement Park?

A Birthday Contemplation
Jay Michaelson
,
May 14, 2019
My 48th birthday was last week, and I feel great about it. This might be a feature of middle age. I’m no longer astonished (or embarrassed) at how old I am, like I was a decade ago, when turning 40 seemed like the end of the world. (Hint: it’s not.) Yet I’m still youngish and healthy, surrounded by blessings of family, work, the spiritual life, and love. For years, I’d been wrong about what getting older is actually all about. Twenty years ago, I worried that it meant an unfortunate decline in attractiveness, coolness, and having awesome experiences like spending all night dancing in crowded nightclubs. (God, I’m glad that kind of awesomeness is mostly in the rear-view mirror.)
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May
A Birthday Contemplation

Change Your Posture, Change Your Mood
Joseph Wielgosz
,
May 7, 2019
According to neuroscientific research, you can change your mood simply by changing your body posture.Of course, everyone knows that body posture can reflect our emotions. Picture an Olympic sprinter crossing the finish line with their arms in the air, and head thrown back in celebration. Or picture the audience in a horror movie, instinctively cringing and curling up when something goes bump in the night. But can it also work the other way? Can body posture influence our emotional state, as well as reflect it?
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May
Change Your Posture, Change Your Mood

Change Your Posture, Change Your Mood (Copy)
Joseph Wielgosz
,
May 7, 2019
According to neuroscientific research, you can change your mood simply by changing your body posture.Of course, everyone knows that body posture can reflect our emotions. Picture an Olympic sprinter crossing the finish line with their arms in the air, and head thrown back in celebration. Or picture the audience in a horror movie, instinctively cringing and curling up when something goes bump in the night. But can it also work the other way? Can body posture influence our emotional state, as well as reflect it?
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May
Change Your Posture, Change Your Mood (Copy)

Relationships and Radical Uncertainty
Susan Piver
,
April 30, 2019
Several years ago, I ran into a particularly rough time in my marriage. I’m not talking about the kind where you have a fight, storm off, and then make up. No, this was the kind of rough time that seemed to have no particular cause. Though there was nothing to fight about, we fought about everything. Nothing was bothersome, but everything one of us did bothered the other. We had no particular problems, but everything we tried to do—eat a meal, make the bed, decide what to watch on television—somehow became a huge problem, impossible to navigate without truly pissing each other off. In short: we could not get along.
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April
Relationships and Radical Uncertainty

The Trouble with Gratitude
Hila Ratzabi
,
April 23, 2019
I’m rushing down the street, despite the pleasant weather and flowers blooming. No one else is on the street—I live in a peaceful, quiet, small city, yet I’m hurrying and stressed; I have somewhere to go. And then I see the old man. He suddenly appears at the end of the block, turns the corner, inches forward as he leans his weight on his walker, lifting one leg slowly, slowly, then the other. My face softens, I immediately slow down, embarrassed by my hurrying.A rush of thoughts and emotions flood me:
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April
The Trouble with Gratitude

When the World Falls Apart
Jay Michaelson
,
April 16, 2019
Like many of you, I watched in horror as one of the world’s greatest works of art, the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, burned to the ground this week. I find myself reeling.The strength of my reaction surprises me. Although I’d twice visited the cathedral, and studied it in art history class, I have no special connection to Notre-Dame. I’m neither French nor Catholic. And yet I feel personally attacked, like a part of me has been torn out.
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April
When the World Falls Apart

Selfies at the Mona Lisa
Steven Schwartzberg
,
April 9, 2019
Hard to believe, but here's an astounding true fact: For the vast majority of human existence, including all but the last few of the 14,000-plus years since nomadic hunter-gatherer clans coalesced into nascent human civilizations, we didn't carry a fabulous instant camera in our pockets and photograph every single moment of our existence.
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April
Selfies at the Mona Lisa

The Wisdom of Spring
Jay Michaelson
,
April 2, 2019
Springtime!For folks in most of North America, this is a time of stretching, opening, and awakening. In colder states, it might mean finally putting away those winter coats. In warmer states, it might mean the return of beach weather. Wherever you are, it’s an opportunity to notice how what we think of as “I, me, and mine” is actually… not us at all.
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April
The Wisdom of Spring

The Science of De-Stressing
nico hase
,
March 26, 2019
A couple years ago I defended my dissertation. Now, as anyone who has ever defended a dissertation will tell you, the whole process is a stress-inducing imbroglio, a veritable blitzkrieg of queries and provocations hosted by a stone-faced faculty tribunal intent on punching holes in the drywall of your thesis, which you've just spent one or two or three years building up out of a combination of blood, sweat, and far too many obscure academic citations.
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March
The Science of De-Stressing

Worry is Wasted Energy
Sebene Selassie
,
March 19, 2019
Much of my energy can be drained by fear and worry. I’m not talking about big, scary fears of harm or death -- I’m actually not an especially fearful person. Some might even think I am brave. As a young woman, I traveled in foreign countries on my own. I’ve changed jobs often and started multiple careers. I do long silent meditation retreats. I’ve faced cancer three times.
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March
Worry is Wasted Energy

Don’t Just Sit There: An Introduction to Walking Meditation
Jay Michaelson
,
March 13, 2019
When meditation is depicted visually, it’s almost always in a picture of someone sitting down, usually with eyes closed. And, it’s true, sitting and paying attention to your breath is probably the most common form of meditation today.But sitting has a serious downside: it takes time and space to do it. Whether you’re devoting five minutes or forty-five minutes to meditation, that’s time you’ve got to carve out of your day.
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March
Don’t Just Sit There: An Introduction to Walking Meditation

If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all
Jay Michaelson
,
March 5, 2019
“If you don’t have anything nice to say….”You know the rest, right? Don’t say anything at all.My mom used to tell me that all the time when I was a kid. I guess that’s because I was always saying things that weren’t so nice!
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March
If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all

What is 'Natural Awareness'?
Diana Winston
,
February 27, 2019
Awareness is a capacity of the human mind. As we ordinarily understand it, it’s the ability to directly know and to perceive, sense, feel, or be cognizant of experience. We might think of awareness simply as the state of being conscious of something.Every sentient being is aware, in this sense of the word. But human beings (and, who knows, maybe some animals) also have an additional capacity: to be aware of awareness, or aware that they are aware.And this is where it gets interesting, because the “awareness of awareness” has been a focus of meditation for hundreds of years.
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February
What is 'Natural Awareness'?

Relaxation is Not Enough
Jay Michaelson
,
February 20, 2019
I know, I know – most people try out meditation in order to reduce stress. And that is totally fine. Meditating will help you calm down and de-stress. It does work.But it’s the tip of the iceberg. The real point is happiness.
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February
Relaxation is Not Enough

Showing Up for Life Means Showing Up for Others
Koshin Paley Ellison
,
February 13, 2019
I used to see myself as a rebel. I was into my identity as an outsider, and it was a place of safety for me for a long time. One year, however, my grandmother Mimi got sick. Her kids – my dad and his sister – wanted her to move from her home in Brooklyn to assisted living near where they lived, either in Syracuse or Atlanta. Neither option appealed to her, and so she asked if I would be willing to take care of her instead.I remember it so clearly: we were sitting on a wooden bench on Ocean Parkway, and I was feeling these little inward contractions, like, “Oh my God, she’s asking me?” I was thinking about how taking on this responsibility might not necessarily be very convenient.
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February
Showing Up for Life Means Showing Up for Others

Meditation is the Marie Kondo of the Mind
Jay Michaelson
,
February 5, 2019
I love that Marie Kondo – the Japanese guru of “tidying up” – is having her moment. I went through my Kon-Mari phase a few years ago, when her book came out, and now it feels like way more people are busy asking themselves, as they sift through every keepsake and pair of shoes they own: “Does it spark joy?”Meditation is the Marie Kondo of the mind. Like the Kon-Mari method, it is a rigorous practice of calming, seeing, and sifting.
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February
Meditation is the Marie Kondo of the Mind

Embracing the Suck
Daron Larson
,
January 30, 2019
I was lifting weights recently when my left shoulder suddenly shouted at me with a sharp, shooting pain. For the next few weeks, I skipped that particular exercise, but the problem didn’t go away. My physical therapist told me it was likely a rotator cuff injury.To address my persistent pain, he prescribed a few minutes of additional exercises. They were simple, but uncomfortable and inconvenient, and I didn’t want to do them. And yet, I knew that they would work precisely by making me uncomfortable.Just like mindfulness practice.
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January
Embracing the Suck

Vampires!
Jay Michaelson
,
January 22, 2019
Vampires don’t exist, right?Actually, they sort of do. You probably have some of them in your life. They may be co-workers, relatives, friends, or fellow parents in the PTA: they’re the people who seem to suck the life out of you, demanding more and more of your mental energy. Unfortunately, these vampires can’t be scared off with garlic. And no, you can’t drive stakes through their hearts either. But there are mindfulness-based tools for minimizing the impact they have on your life. Here are four.
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January
Vampires!

Showing Up for the Hard Stuff
Grace Livingston
,
January 16, 2019
Just a few weeks after my thirtieth birthday, I was diagnosed with late stage ovarian cancer. In an instant, I found myself catapulted into a whirlwind of medical mayhem. Since then, I’ve had major abdominal surgery, completed six rounds of chemotherapy, and spent more time in doctors’ offices in six months than I had in the rest of my life combined.
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January
Showing Up for the Hard Stuff

Mindful at the Gym
Devon Hase
,
January 8, 2019
About a gazillion studies have established that a consistent regime of cardiovascular and weight-bearing exercise is good for just about everything. Weight loss? Check. Chronic health conditions? Yes. Buffering against depression? Absolutely. You may have even resolved to go to the gym more regularly in 2019.But if you're anything like me, working out is a mixed bag.
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January
Mindful at the Gym