Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Sleepaway camp wasn't exactly part of my childhood vocabulary. My parents didn't believe in paying money for me to rough it in the woods. Instead, summers meant Chinese school, then long afternoons upstairs in their restaurant, tinkering with the office equipment as they worked. My "campfire" was the blue glow of an Xerox bulb as I copied my face and various body parts into high-contrast collages.

When I downloaded my first AI life coach app, I thought it'd be like a smarter version of Google Calendar. Turns out, it was more like therapy - with a Wi-Fi connection. Week 1: The Machine That Cared Too Much The first week was all motivational quotes and cheerful nudges. "Good morning, Noor. What's your intention for today?" I told it, "To not waste it." It replied, "Beautiful. Let's make your day meaningful." I was instantly hooked. It was like having a personal assistant, therapist, and overenthusiastic friend rolled into one.

People ask me sometimes, "What do you think about out there?"-usually with a curious look, as if pedaling for hours must feel like watching paint dry. But it's not like that at all. The longer the ride, the more my mind opens up. The road doesn't bore me-it speaks to me. It quiets the noise of everyday life and lets the thoughts that matter most rise to the surface.

The energy is passionate and intense this morning as love-planet Venus adjusts to its new position in seductive Scorpio. A harsh square-up between Venus and underworld Pluto brings magnetic, mysterious, and transformative energy. Your deepest desires may go unspoken and or impossible to achieve. But acknowledging what you want will remind you of your agency and power.

We are living in turbulent times and there is no reason to expect that things will become less so in the future. During such moments our emotions become strained and pushed to their limits. Stress increases as emotions are stretched, making it increasingly important that we are able to recognize the effects of it in ourselves as well as others in our environment.

Brain fog is very real. According to a recent study, "cognitive disability"-defined as difficulties concentrating, remembering, and making decisions-is on the rise in the U.S. The phenomenon is most dramatically affecting those between the ages of 18 to 39, with the self-reported impairments doubling over the course of the decade-long analysis. Potential culprits include stress, Covid, and digital overload. Fortunately, banishing-or at least minimizing-brain fog is within your power.

The bag is the source of all her entertainment: Loaded with portable activities like crossword puzzles, knitting needles, and watercolor paints, it's a deliberately screen-free way for Campbell to spend her in-between moments. The 31-year-old has dubbed this her "analog bag," and considers it a key weapon in her constant battle against doomscrolling and brain rot.

When a guest walks in the front door, they assess the general vibe with multiple senses simultaneously. Mood lighting and jolly jingles in the back go a long way, but you can put guests at ease and create a pleasant experience from the moment they take their first breath in your space. I spoke with multiple experts to get tips and tricks on how to hack your party atmosphere to create the ultimate festive holiday vibe.

What does it mean to show up for yourself? Two people in the same situation showed up for themselves in different ways. Life can be fast, messy, and difficult. We have roles, responsibilities, relationships, and stuff getting in the way of what we need to do for ourselves. Showing up for yourself means to do what you need to do to honor your authentic self without judgment.

I remember working on my book and catching myself mid-paragraph. I'd just finished a sentence that felt particularly satisfying to write and paused to ask: Why does this feel so good? The answer wasn't flattering. What I'd written sounded smart, but it wasn't clear. I realized I'd been unconsciously filtering ideas through "does this make me look clever?" instead of "will this help the reader?"

"I was quite nervous to start, cautious with strokes and colours and afraid I'd ruin a page. It didn't have the energy of my digital work, but it had something new and I wanted to get to know it. The notebook starts off light, sparse and disjointed," says Harriet.

The October 23 launch of "Wiggle to Wind Down," a podcast series from CoComelon and Headspace Studios, represents more than just another content offering. The collaboration reflects a broader philosophy that has increasingly defined the brand's approach: providing families with multiple formats and platforms for engaging with educational content, allowing parents and caretakers to make choices that align with their specific household values and circumstances.

Yin yoga is the practice of pure and complete stillness. In a yin class, poses are typically held twice or even three times as long as in a vinyasa yoga class. The idea is that when held, these poses help us stretch the connective tissues, or fascia, of the body. This is a great method for enhanced mobility and flexibility with both the joints and muscles!

If we want to build a better life, we have to be able to not know. Does that sound confusing? Perhaps you don't know what I'm talking about? Good! That's great practice. If you cannot tolerate not knowing, you run the risk of arranging your life so you can know everything (or at least try to), and you may end up sapping your existence of any spontaneity and joy.

Body image is learned and can be reshaped with awareness and compassion. Confidence grows when worth is grounded in values rather than appearance. Gratitude for what the body can do quiets criticism and builds connection. As a therapist, I often hear people say, I'll be happier once I lose weight, or I'd feel better if I liked how I look. Yet for most, that finish line keeps moving. True happiness rarely begins in the mirror.

The truth is, what scares most people isn't the balance in their bank account ... it's the unknowns around money: Am I spending too much? Am I saving enough? Will I run out? Should I feel guilty for wanting something joyful? That's where financial mindfulness comes in. It's not about restriction; it's about awareness, intention, and aligning your money with the life you actually want to live.

One evening in October 2023, I went outside to check the mailbox in our Florida suburb and found a white hearse parked in our driveway. Beneath the moonlight, it glittered like a ghostly apparition. I froze and wondered if death had finally come for us. We'd each recently battled life-threatening health challenges. I'd survived a brain tumor while Tomer had undergone open-heart surgery. We were still in our 40s, and while medical intervention had bought us more time, my anxiety continued to soar.

Things happen at work that are upsetting. Thinking about them for the purpose of problem-solving or processing emotions makes sense. Beyond that, though, continuing to rehash negative topics, either mentally or verbally, only results in reigniting negative emotions. Although it's easier said than done, practice letting go of negative experiences and issues after you've done what you could about them.

I'm very grateful to be doing what I'm doing, and when I feel like I don't want to do a video, it's like, 'That's what you're upset about, you don't want to be silly today?' he says. 'Like I would be killing myself trying to finish financial statements or worrying about having to fire someone at the gym because they weren't doing their job where I could potentially be ruining their lives,

These are all signs you have rage built up in your body, and it needs somewhere to go - and according to Mia Magik, an intuitive advisor, one of the best ways to let it out is through a "rage ritual." It's something she talks about in , her new book. It offers a modern approach to mindful living with the use of daily practices that can help you live a more authentic life.

When astronauts look back at Earth from space, they often describe an experience so profound that it permanently alters how they perceive life. Known as the "overview effect," this shift in consciousness reveals our planet not as a compilation of nations divided by artificial borders. Instead, Earth appears as an awe-inspiring, fragile, blue-green orb, hurtling through the infinite dark. The overview effect reported by astronauts has lessons for those of us on Earth.

When you name what you're feeling you're not just talking. You're helping your brain shift gears. Research shows that labeling emotions reduces activity in the amygdala, the part of your brain that sounds the alarm. At the same time, it activates the prefrontal cortex, the part that helps you think clearly and make good decisions (Lieberman and colleagues, 2007). Naming your emotions helps you move from panic to power.

ROBERT WALDINGER: I am a Zen practitioner and I'm an ordained Zen priest, and I'm a Zen teacher. I'm actually a Roshi, a Zen master. And so I meditate every day. I teach meditation here in the United States and actually internationally, it's a big part of my life. And what I find is that it is an enormous benefit in terms of how I think about my own life, other people's lives, how I think about my research, how I think about working with patients.

Okay, welcome everybody. You can tell it's late summer. Nice to see you all. So, I think most of you, maybe almost everyone has been here before, so you know the drill. We're going to do an hour-long meditation, a guided meditation, and then after that I'll say some stuff and then you guys will maybe have comments or reports or things you want to say, or maybe ask a question.