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Our Mindfulness Article On Elephant Journal!

“Meditation is simply about being yourself and knowing about who that is. It is about coming to realize that you are on a path whether you like it or not, namely the path that is your life.” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn.

Check it out on Elephant Journal.

 

Wisdom 2.0 Conference Recap

Generation Wired…and Wise?

by Matthew Gilbert

Wisdom and technology had their friendly faceoff at the second annual Wisdom 2.0 conference as some of Silicon Valley’s finest mixed comfortably with a trio of mindfulness masters and an audience of new media pioneers. And if those in the sold-out crowd (or among the 130,000 who watched the streamed version) had any question of what they were in for, Zynga co-founder Eric Schiermeyer quickly reminded them: “In order to succeed in business, forget an MBA. Learn how to be mindful.”

The theme of mindfulness weaved its way throughout the conference, in no small part because of the presence of Jon Kabat-Zinn, renowned scientist-author and founding director of the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts. His wry and sometimes solemn mien gave the event some necessary gravitas, assisted by Zen Abbot Joan Halifax (who attended the 2010 conference) and popular Buddhist meditation teacher Jack Kornfield. The juxtaposition of their collective wisdom against the relatively nascent spiritual impulses of the other speakers provided some helpful perspective – not to take anything away from anyone on stage or in attendance. Everyone seemed passionately immersed in their own journey of exploring how to wisely co-exist with an explosion of technological tools that are re-defining what it means to be connected – and, in some cases, to be human.

Great article about the groundbreaking Wisdom 2.0 conference.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Lesson Eight from Jon Kabat-Zinn's "Letting Everything Become Your Teacher"

Today we share with you a lesson on "whole being" from Jon Kabat-Zinn's book:

LETTING EVERYTHING BECOME YOUR TEACHER: 
100 Lessons in Mindfulness

LESSON 8: Whole Being

To cultivate the healing power of mindfulness requires much more than mechanically following a recipe or a set of instructions. No real process of learning is like that. It is only when the mind is open and receptive that learning and seeing and change can occur. In practicing mindfulness you will have to bring your whole being to the process. 

 

Jon Kabat-Zinn Bio and Links

Available on BetterListen! -- Jon Kabat-Zinn's The World of Relaxation

Available on Amazon -- Letting Everything Become Your Teacher

 

 

Lesson Seven from Jon Kabat-Zinn's "Letting Everything Become Your Teacher"

We are delighted to share with you another amazing lesson from Jon Kabat-Zinn's:

LETTING EVERYTHING BECOME YOUR TEACHER: 
100 Lessons in Mindfulness

LESSON 7: Right Attitude

The attitude with which you undertake the practice of paying attention and being in the present is crucial. It is the soil in which you will be cultivating your ability to calm your mind and to relax your body, to concentrate and to see more clearly. If the attitudinal soil is depleted, that is, if your energy and commitment to practice are low, it will be hard to develop calmness and relaxation with any consistency. If the soil is really polluted, that is, if you are trying to force yourself to feel relaxed and demand of yourself that “something happen,” nothing will grow at all and you will quickly conclude that “meditation doesn’t work.” 

Jon Kabat-Zinn Bio and Links

Available on BetterListen! -- Jon Kabat-Zinn's The World of Relaxation

Available on Amazon -- Letting Everything Become Your Teacher

 

Lesson Six from Jon Kabat-Zinn's "Letting Everything Become Your Teacher"

We are delighted to bring you another lesson from Jon Kabat-Zinn's terrific guide:

LETTING EVERYTHING BECOME YOUR TEACHER: 
100 Lessons in Mindfulness

LESSON 6: Do-It-Yourself

In this regard, cultivating mindfulness is not unlike the process of eating. It would be absurd to propose that someone else eat for you. And when you go to a restaurant, you don’t eat the menu, mistaking it for the meal, nor are you nourished by listening to the waiter describe the food. You have to actually eat the food for it to nourish you. In the same way, you have to actually practice mindfulness in order to reap its benefits and come to understand why it is so valuable. 
 
 

Jon Kabat-Zinn Bio and Links

Available on BetterListen! -- Jon Kabat-Zinn's The World of Relaxation

Available on Amazon -- Letting Everything Become Your Teacher

 

Excerpt 1 from "The Shadow Effect"

We are pleased to share with you the introduction from The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self -- the fantastic new book by New York Times best-selling authors and internationally acclaimed teachers Debbie Ford, Deepak Chopra and Marianne Williamson.  These three luminaries, each with a signature approach, bring to light the parts of ourselves we deny but that still direct our life. For it is only when we embrace our shadow that we discover the gifts of our authentic nature.  

Introduction - Part 1

The conflict between who we are and who we want to be is at the core of the human struggle. Duality, in fact, lies at the very centr of the human experience. Life and death, good and evil, hope and res­ignation coexist in every person and exert their force in every facet of our lives. If we know courage, it is because we have also experienced fear; if we can recognize honesty, it is because we have encountered deceit. And yet most of us deny or ignore our dualistic nature. 

If we are living under the assumption that we are only one way or another, inside a limited spectrum of human qualities, then we would have to question why more of us aren’t wholly satisfied with our lives right now. Why do we have access to so much wisdom yet fail to have the strength and courage to act upon our good intentions by making powerful choices? And most important, why do we continue to act out in ways that go against our value system and all that we stand for? We will assert that it is because of our unexamined life, our darker self, our shadow self where our unclaimed power lies hidden. It is here, in this least likely place, that we will find the key to unlock our strength, our happiness, and our ability to live out our dreams. 

Seth Godin - The Linchpin Session free audio download.

We are honored to offer this Bonus Free Title from Business Guru Seth Godin.  This Linchpin Session recording is 45 minutes of inspired listening, learning and living.

Seth challenges us to think and live outside of the box.

Click on this link for a preview and free download.

Enjoy!