May Newsletter 2012
In This issue
Day of Mindfulness retreat in Rancho Mirage, California: Saturday, May 12th 9:30-3:30 register here
Weekend retreat: In Idyllwild August 17th-19th Book now: this fills up quickly and space is limited. Read more and register here.
Women’s Wellness Day at Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine, Friday, May 18th : many great enriching topics and a breakout session with Beth Mulligan on the Benefits of Mindfulness: enroll here.
Sharon Salzberg comes to LA May 19th and 20th Insight LA read more here:
Hugh O’Neill’s Art in Beverly Hills Art Show, May 19th and 20th read more here:
7 Fascinating facts about meditation in the Huffington Post
Mindfulness app: check it out here!
Mindful- Way Meditations with Beth Mulligan are now available on itunes, order and download and if you’ve benefitted, please write a review!
New Meditation Group in Palm Springs, learn more at: Desert Insight long needed- with wonderful teachers!
Right now the wild lilacs are in bloom on the mountain along with bright yellow California bush poppies. Looking at the hills around my house you can see a patchwork quilt of green, lavender and yellow. The question one can ask oneself, is, do I really see it? The spring is here in every moment, but the flowers will fade and drop off in the next few months, like everything –passing and impermanent, so I don’t want to miss it. I also don’t want to miss my life. Acknowledging the impermanent nature of things is a great reason to practice mindfulness meditation. When we practice being present, we are present at least for that moment. Practicing coming back to the breath and the body over and over again in formal practice is the gateway to the present moment. After a while we find this is happening more and more in our lives when we are not formally meditating. Georgia O’Keefe who painted such exquisite flowers said: ”To see a flower takes time, like to have a friend takes time.”
When we come together in our Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction classes (MBSR) we give each other the support to go against the tide of the frantic doing we see all around us, and slow down enough to really be fully present for whatever needs our attention right now. It’s good to ask ourselves challenging questions like: “Is what I am giving my attention to really important to me? Does it line up with my values? Is it serving my vision?” Asking and answering these questions takes a bit of time also, but when we do slow down enough to do so, we find our time is well spent, not only in this investigation, but in what it leads to; a life with meaning and purpose. I invite you take a moment to really see a flower, to really listen to a friend with your full attention and that friend could be you! I invite you to join us for a day long or weekend retreat to practice the art of paying attention mindfully with appreciation and a non-judgmental attitude. You may find this practice wakes up the joy in living your very own life, just as it is right now. Visit our retreat page to learn more. And visit Insight LA to find other opportunities as well.
Day of Mindfulness : Saturday May 12th 9:30-3:30.
This silent day of practice is the perfect way to honor the mothering instinct in our lives. Participating in this day long retreat is way to nurture ourselves, our soul and spirit. It takes place at Eisenhower Medical Center’s Annenberg Center. (This past retreat in April, we had the pleasure of doing walking meditation with 2 Candian geese and their 6 goslings.)mindfulway7@aol.com Cost $45.00 suggested donation (this supports our MBSR scholarship fund). Bring your own lunch and yoga mat. Register here or call 760-799-7847 to hold your spot, or email:
Our 6th Annual 3 Day Mindfulness Retreat August 17-19th
will take place as always at Yokoji Zen Mountain Center .This residential retreat includes yoga with Jessa Tarbert of Anahata Movement Arts, meditation with Beth Mulligan and Hugh O’Neill and a talk by Zen Teacher (Roshi) Charles Tenshin Fletcher, Abbot of Yokoji. The surroundings are spectacular, rustic and serene. A unique aspect of this retreat is: we always have a lot of fun. Register here; Take a virtual tour of Yokoji here.
Insight LA, is a great mindfulness resource in the LA area. Trudy Goodman is a wonderful teacher herself, and she also brings great teachers from all over the world to Southern California. Now for the third time Sharon Salzberg will be coming for a whole weekend! May 19th and 20th. Learn more here.
Beverly Hills Art Show! If you’re in LA May 19th and 20th please stop by to see Hugh O’Neill’s amazing art at the Beverly Hills Art Show. It’s a competitive juried show so there will be some really interesting work to see. You can learn about it here.
Mindful-Way meditations available on itunes : Download, listen and if you like it please review!
7 Fascinating Facts About Meditation
(read the full article in the Huffington Post here)
1) It makes your brain plastic (meditation reshapes and strengthens certain brain structures)
2) Increases gray matter.
3) Can be better than sleeping
4) It’s better than blood pressure medication
5) It can protect your telomeres (these are end caps on your DNA responsible for preventing cellular aging)
6) Can slow the progression of HIV
7) It’s pain relieving properties beat morphine.
Mindfulness App:
To have a regular reminder to be mindful from the very device that might keep you from it sometimes; check out the Mindfulness App watch this.
To always be up to date in this emerging field, subscribe to Mindfulness Research Monthly here and read past issues.
Check out our : The Mindful Channel on You Tube
To Learn more about Mindfulness Meditation
Schedule a one-on
One Stress Reduction session with Hugh O’Neill by calling 951-750-9020
Or buy a CD set on the website. Click here to order
Follow our blog here and find out what we are up to on facebook
Also available from Mindful-Way two short free meditations you can download to your ipod or phone. A great way to de-stress quickly whenever you need to. You can find them on our website on the free audio page.
If you would like to learn more about Mindfulness and live in the Los Angeles, Pasadena or Loz Feliz area, check out Insight LA. In San Diego, look into UCSD’s Center for Mindfulness , in Riverside County and Orange County check out our programs at Mindful-Way Stress Reduction and the UC Irvine Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine or for national and international resources go to: The Center for Mindfulness at U Mass Worcester You can also take classes on line through emindful.com There are many great books and CD’ s available also. I recommend A Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Workbook by Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein