Mindfulness is about love and loving life. When you cultivate this love, it gives you clarity and compassion for life, and your actions happen in accordance with that. ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
Longevity is great but we don't have too much control over that (healthy eating and exercise aside). What we do control is how much we live each moment we are alive. Mindfulness is probably the most direct route to living more fully each and every day. If you have not seen our course on mindful walking, we encourage you to check it out here. Try it and see what results you see.
How often do you consciously practice mindfulness? Do you notice that your ability to love increases with your level of awareness?
As requested, this is a guided mindful walk we created over the weekend for the readers of this blog. The audio and pics are from the actual walk in real time. You can listen to this while you take a walk yourself. Use the audio to prompt you to actively notice new things as you walk. This will activate the mindfulness switch! Note: There will be a series of professionally produced guided mindful walks available on iTunes in the near future. We will let you know when they are ready.
Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it. ~ Rumi
This is a Mini-Course on Mindful Walking.
As we wrap-up this mini-course on mindful walking, we finish in a magical garden in a park. This magical garden could be anywhere on the planet. You will need to discover yours for yourself. Let your intuition guide you to the spot (you will know it when you see it).
In this session we talk about the idea of doing some conscious breathing since most people tend to hold their breath. Let the air in and let it circulate. Then let it out. Breathe.
Going to the garden is a special way to slow down. Focus on walking slowly and consider using it as your final destination after each mindful walk. See everything. There is no need to rush. Look at things close-up. Actively notice new things continuously. Don't let the rain stop you. Some of the best walks ever had by anyone who has walked the planet have happened during "inclement" weather.
Our sincere wish is that you have been inspired by this course and will consider giving this walking practice a try. As always, we love to hear from you. Send a note if you have any questions.
When I am traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that ideas flow best and most abundantly. ~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
This is a Mini-Course on Mindful Walking.
In this session we talk about some of the "side effects" of mindful walking. In this case they are all good. Namely, any feelings of stress, anxiety or overwhelm begin to fall away. At the same time, new ideas (relevant to what you are working on) begin to flow in.
We recommend carrying a notepad and pen so you can jot down these ideas and then continue on with the walk. If you don't write it down, there is a tendency to keep playing the ideas over and over again in your head. This is a huge distraction from the task at hand if you allow it to happen. Stay focused! As John Muir pointed out, "in every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you. ~ John Muir
This is a Mini-Course on Mindful Walking. In this session we discuss a few things that you can do to boost your mindfulness walk. As you are walking and noticing new things, you can begin integrating the sounds that you hear along the way, such as the breeze blowing through the leaves. You can become aware of the feeling of your feet as they touch the ground. Keep in mind that no two days are ever the same (light, temperature, sounds, weather conditions, your state of being). Even if you take the same path every day for 100 years, each walk would be one-of-a-kind-unique if walked in mindfulness.
And so, mindfulness, for me, is the very simple process of actively noticing new things. When you actively notice new things that puts you in the present, makes you sensitive to context. As you’re noticing new things, it’s engaging. And it turns out, after a lot of research, that we find that it’s literally, not just figuratively, enlivening. So, the Eastern notions, I did research, again, back in the ’80s, on transcendental meditation. And, that’s also — meditation is also useful, but it’s quite different, different ways of getting to the same place. Meditation, no matter what kind of meditation, is engaged to produce post-meditative mindfulness. ~ Ellen J. Langer
This is a Mini-Course on Mindful Walking.
This session is all about noticing new things, intentionally, while on a mindfulness walk. It is about stacking the odds in your favor. The mindfulness walk, in the way that we use that term, will have a higher than average chance of turning on your mindfulness switch not only during the walk but for several hours afterwards. You become awake and aware. Your power to create is greatly enhanced. So-called accidents and mistakes almost disappear because you notice everything (within you and around you). It doesn't get much better than that!
The takeaway message of this session is to notice everything you can on the walk: From the super small to the grand vista opening before you in a beautiful location. Switching between the two can be very useful in heightening the experience.
It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching. ~ Francis of Assisi
This is a Mini-Course on Mindful Walking.
In this session, we talk about your pre-walk activities. That is, those things related to getting into a mindset conducive to a mindful walk. Prepare to launch!
This step includes:
Setting the intention to be mindful during the walk
Check-in with your level of consciousness before and after the walk (write it down)
I am alarmed when It happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit. ~ Henry David Thoreau
This is a Mini-Course on Mindful Walking.
In this session we discuss a few considerations about what you need in terms of equipment (not much) and proper clothing. We also discuss footwear for walking. On rough terrain, you will need walking shoes. We mentioned the idea of going barefoot when it is safe to do so. There is a lot of new research coming out about the importance of getting grounded. See the book Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever! - 2nd editionfor more information on this important topic.
In this session, we discuss selecting a place that is conducive to mindful walking (especially in the early stages of the practice). We recommend criteria in outdoor spaces to look for and consider. It is likely that there is such a place not far from your home or office. Even in New York, Central Park is available, for those living in the Big Apple.
No matter where you are located in the world, there should be a place where you can go to take a mindful walk. You may notice how crowded the streets are with cars while how few people are out there are on the walking path.
This is a Mini-Course on Mindful Walking. In this video, we talk about setting the intention to become mindful before you set out for a walk. We recommend that you do a check-in to see where you are at--in terms of your level of consciousness--before and after the walk. The check-in numbers can be tracked effectively in a spreadsheet so you can see your progress over time.
This is a Mini-Course on something we call Mindful Walking. In this video, we discuss the Seven Levels of Consciousness. Here they are for future reference:
Level 0 - Sleep
Level 1 - Twilight Zone between sleep and waking
Level 2 - Ordinary everyday consciousness (the lights are on but no one is home)
This is a Mini-Course on something we call Mindful Walking.
One of the questions that came up from the How to Find Your Dream Job Now course was about the Mindfulness Walk we discussed in the Session 10 video. Because it is so important and so many people have asked about how to do it, I shot a series of videos explaining the process.
This is Part 1. A new video will be posted every day for the next 10 days. If you have an interest in mindfulness this series may be of interest to you.
The video quality is rough and grainy not unlike war footage. This is appropriate since it is a battle to not only wake up but to stay awake. The main thing in this series is the motivation for you to get started (and keep going).
for more information on this important topic. 
