I’ve moved! Visit my new mindfulness blog at www.WowofWonder.com

I’m no longer updating this blog.

You can have access to this content plus all my new posts over at Wowof Wonder.com

Thank you!

Maya

Mindfulness and Country Living: Contemplating Farm Life in Uruguay

It’s been an interesting week.

Not too long ago, my husband and I made a trip across the river from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Colonia, Uruguay.  We’ve made this trip many times before, usually just for the day (and to renew our visas).  But this time, we spent a week or so doing research for a book I want to write.

We stayed with local expats–people from Canada, the UK, France, and the US.  These individuals were choosing to live in Uruguay part-time or full-time.  Some had discovered Uruguay through online resources and discussions with those who had visited.  Others had stumbled upon it on a trip to Buenos Aires and fallen in love with it.  Some had felt compelled to move to Uruguay without ever having visited it.

Although there are all kinds of ways to live in Uruguay–and most countries–we were particularly intrigued by those who had moved to Uruguay in order to purchase property and live closer to the land.  One couple we stayed with has spent the last 20 years in Manhattan, but bought 50 acres and a 100-year-old farmhouse in Uruguay, where they are happily settling into country life.  Keep in mind that these people had never lived on a farm before and knew nothing about gardening or raising animals.  They are learning–and loving the process of discovering what it’s like to be so in tune with the seasons, the soil and the sounds of the country.

Despite my city-girl persona of the past three years since moving to Buenos Aires, I felt a remarkable pull toward the countryside.  I was raised on a ten-acre piece of land three miles down a gravel road from a small agricultural town in Oregon with a population of 360.  I grew up working in fields of all kinds, and my family had a massive garden.  My mother was raised Mormon and still followed the two-year-supply-of-food rule, so we had a room in our home dedicated to the storage and display of beautiful glass jars of the fruits and vegetables she canned.  But she went way beyond the usual strawberry jam and preserved peaches:  she made her own pickles, pickle relish, ketchup, tomato sauce, and sauerkraut.  We had a food dryer and always had containers full of dried apples and prunes.  We made our own granola and muesli.  My grandmother made her own yogurt–back in the sixties!

So, despite becoming a more “modern” American woman these past 30 years–one who shops at supermarkets and turns her yard into a perennial garden and maybe a few herbs, but no vegetables in sight–I’ve been pulled back to the idea of having enough land to grow my own food.  Potatoes, onions, carrots, beans, tomatoes, corn.  All kinds of herbs. Loads of fruit trees. And yes, some herbs and flowers.

I found a piece of property in Uruguay, about 20 kilometers from the coast.  It’s about five miles outside a small town. It has just under five acres–and 18 different fruit trees.  It also has a lovely new 3-bedroom farmhouse.  And a well.

Having recently moved into a studio apartment in Buenos Aires–after selling our 3-bedroom place once the kids moved out–I have been enjoying the simplicity of one-room living.  We have just what fits, just what we need, just what we really love, and nothing else.  I like the sense of security that comes from knowing I have just this one room, and that I can lock the door and leave and not worry about it while I am away.

But now, I find myself fantasizing about living in the country.  Or rather, I dream about having this wonderful little studio in the city but also having a beautiful piece of land upon which to garden, grow things, and reconnect to the earth.  I envision a place that will evolve over the next decade or two to include a lush and beautiful garden, a guest house, an outdoor campfire area….and not much else.  Just land. Crickets.  Maybe some chickens, a few sheep to keep the grass short.  I want to buy my clothes at the feed store–tall galoshes, long underwear, overalls–and keep them there so that when I arrive, I can slip into my country clothes and head outside.  I want to drink mate in the morning with a view of the country, and get my hands into the soil every single day.

I never thought this would appeal to me.  As a teenager growing up in such a remote area, I swore I would never make my kids live out in the middle of nowhere.  Instead, we lived in a small town (a quick walk to Main Street where they could buy ice cream cones or read magazines–or visit their parents, as my husband and I had a small business in the downtown area).  Then we lived in the suburbs.  I hated the suburbs, but I am so grateful we had that experience.  If I hadn’t lived in a subdivision, I wouldn’t have felt compelled to leave the US, and then I would not have discovered what it is like to live in a beach town in Mexico or in a city of 13 million people in Argentina.  Or on a farm in Uruguay.

Things keep changing.  I keep changing.  I am trying to let go of my “nevers”  (I should have mastered this by now) and be open to where my heart pulls me–even if that means a piece of property in the middle of nowhere.

I’m not a teenager anymore.  My kids have never lived in the country, and they aren’t likely to live on a farm–ever.  But I love the idea of having this place for our family to congregate, to share holidays and watch grandchildren playing in the garden.  Studio apartment life in the city is exhilarating, but I am longing for a place that inspires more contemplation.  Living in the country won’t be simpler than living in a studio apartment–there is more to maintain–but it will provide a perfect balance.

I think.  Or, I might find it terribly boring.  Who knows?

All I can do is follow my heart.  And right now, it’s pulling me to this piece of property which I have not yet seen.

More soon.

Mindfulness and Milestones: Things Are Coming Together in 2010

I’m already excited about 2010.  Sure, I’m focused on the present moment, but I can’t help but feel that there are some interesting times ahead for all of us. 

For me personally, 2010 is a milestone year:  I will celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary in March and my 50th birthday in June.  Seems like a good reason to pay even more attention to what matters most in my life.

What matters most in yours?  I’m  going to invite you to look at that in the months ahead and discover new possibilities for creativity and meaning.

Now that the focus on my book, The New Global Student, is winding down and I have just completed writing my second book (more on that in the weeks ahead), I feel that things are coming together in very satisfying ways.  The second book is about developing greater mindfulness and finding or creating both a sense of place and our right livelihood.   And while I have been very happy living in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the last three years, I feel a pull in a new direction.  (No, I’m not moving–more like…expanding.  Details soon!) More than ever, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the gifts in my life and a yearning to connect with and support others who are immersed in the process of charting a new course for themselves.

I’m looking forward to digging into that much more in 2010 both here and in my creative lifestyle design blog over at  New Globals.

I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Change Your Mind, Change Your Health

I just read a fascinating article by Ellen Langer on how our perception can change our health. She describes studies that show how our surroundings–and specifically, the triggers around us–can alter the way we feel and perform physically. In one study, she put a bunch of 70 to 80-year-olds in a space that had been designed to look and feel as though it was built and decorated many years earlier.  The subjects were instructed to remember how they felt and moved at that earlier age, but not to dwell on memories or specific thoughts of that period.

The result?  The participants not only reported feeling younger but actually exhibited “younger” behavior as indicated in tests measuring flexibility, dexterity and memory.

I am currently working on a book about those who decide to live in a place that makes them happy–and I’m not talking about retirement communities.  One thing I am finding is that many people in their later years are moving abroad because it is stimulating.  These individuals are going beyond the warm weather choices and finding places that engage and excite them daily.   By learning a new language and culture and creating a whole new group of friends of all ages from around the world, these seniors are finding that they feel younger than they have in many years. Many have renewed energy to dive into projects or even vocations that they’d never attempted before. Most find a new sense of what it means to really LIVE while their co-horts back home focus on their general decline.

Langer’s work and the research I am doing highlight the importance of where we choose to live and how it affects our health and well being.  And it’s not just for seniors–at every age, we can improve our physical and mental health by being mindful of our choices regarding place in terms of our home design (simple and small is best), the diversity of our social circles and community, and the culture and climate in which we live.

How are YOU choosing to be healthy?

A Bold and Intentional Approach to Education

I’ve been busy talking to all kinds of people about my book, The New Global Student:  Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education, which was published in May by Crown/Three Rivers Press (Random House) and is already in its second printing. (Hooray!)

The book offers a bold and intentional approach to giving our kids the kind of education they really need to be able to seize their most thrilling and fulfilling opportunities in the 21st-century global economy–no matter where they choose to live.

It’s not about a relentless quest for meaningless test scores.

It’s not about obsessing over grades or the college admissions process.

You see, the new American global students have their eyes wide open.  They are laughing at the lunacy of the current college-prep mindset, diving into the learning they love, and gliding into the global economy at 19 or 20 with:

**a red-hot U.S. or Canadian college diploma

**sizzling 21st-century skills (including fluency in a foreign language–or two or three)

**outrageously relevant experience

**a blazing sense of direction

**and NO DEBT.

How?  By focusing on rapture in addition to rigor.

By paying attention to what lights them up so that they can learn and leap forward.

By stepping away from the old four-by-four model (four years of high school followed by four years of college) in order to build momentum and excitement about what they are learning.

By seeing the world and their possibilities in it.

The world of education is going through a tremendous shift brought about by financial failures and a new awareness of what is truly valuable about an education.  Rather than chasing impressive credentials, savvy students are pursuing a path that allows them to get a ragin’ education on campus, online, on the road and on their own terms and time lines.

Because after all, an education should prepare students for their future, and the only thing we know for certain about the future is that things will continue to change!  An education that intentionally incorporates and develops flexibility, collaboration and self-direction is the ONLY kind of education that will give students the skills they need to thrive no matter what the future may bring.

Racing alongside others without questioning the value of what you’re learning or your own engagement in it is precisely what leads to unfulfilling work and unsatisfying lifestyles.  We must help our students develop the ability to slow down and PAY ATTENTION to what matters most to them.

I invite you to read the stories in the book from students who are thriving by doing things differently–and the families that have created their own ideal lifestyles despite their fear and the naysayers who tell them it can’t be done.

Learn more about the book at http://www.NewGlobalStudent.com

Paul, Ringo, David Lynch–and You? A Hot Week for Mindfulness

Mindfulness is in the news in a big way this week with the  announcement of a reunion of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at a star-studded concert to benefit David Lynch’s Transcendental Meditation campaign.  The David Lynch Foundation is raising  funds to teach one million at-risk children to meditate — giving them life-long tools to overcome stress and violence and promote peace and success in their lives.

Bravo!

Now…what about YOU?

Are you meditating?  Are you finding ways to be more present in your life?  Are you using the news all around you as a personal cue to slow down and pay attention to what’s going on WITH YOU?

When times are scary, we tend to focus on the bad news all around us.  We’d be much better off watching how the bad news affects us emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually.  We can learn a great deal about what boosts our own stress levels and how we adjust to change by using the news to see ourselves and our responses more clearly.

Want to be more mindful?  Great.  But remember this:  you don’t have to meditate to become more mindful!

Meditation can be powerful–no doubt about it.  But the emphasis on meditation sometimes obscures what we’re really needing–MINDFULNESS!

If the meditation part just isn’t appealing to you or you’re looking for a simpler way to bring more awareness into your day, I hope you’ll consider stepping away from the “working on mindfulness” effort and dive into the “playing with mindfulness” games that characterize my Real-World Mindfulness Training approach.

Kids are naturally mindful.  They know how to be in the moment.  After all, in order to play a make-believe game or see animal shapes in the clouds or make up a new dance step in your bedroom, you’ve got to be present.  As they get older, however–and more immersed in the world of adult expectations–they lose their ease and have to make a greater effort to pay attention to what’s going on right now.  Once they are old enough to have regrets about the past and worries about the future, they need to be reminded to be calm, clear and creative.

Just like you.

Don’t make mindfulness hard. Don’t turn it into a big project that you have to wake up early for.

Instead, begin simply and have a little fun with it.  After all, mindfulness isn’t rocket science, and it doesn’t have to be done with a serious expression or painful posture.  It’s the most natural and potentially joyful thing in the world!

If you’re looking for some lighthearted tips and triggers to remind yourself to be present to the wonders around and within you, I invite you to take a look at some of the surprisingly fun ways you can stir up more mindfulness every day.

Book Update: The New Global Student to hit bookstores May 19th!

That’s right–the book is written and in production at the fine offices of Three Rivers Press (a division of Random House) and I’m busy preparing the new website(s) and contacting blurbers and all of the other wonderful things you get to do when you write a book.  I’m loving every minute of it (well, almost every minute).

The title has been changed since my last post–it’s now The New Global Student:  Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education.  You’ll be able to learn all about it when the new website launches next week at www.NewGlobalStudent.com

Anyway, I couldn’t be happier with the way things are turning out.  I hope to update this blog on a fairly regular basis (once a week or so) once things are going smoothly.

Thanks so much for your patience!  Oh, and don’t forget to check out my prettified website (also up next week) at www.Real-WorldMindfulness.com

Paying Attention To What Matters Most: I’m Writing A Book About Creative Education For Random House!

You’ll notice that I’m not posting here very frequently. 

It’s not because I’ve lost interest in mindfulness!  In fact, I’m more passionate than ever about teaching people how to pay attention in order to get calm, clear and creative.  I’ve just got a very specific audience to focus on right now.

You see, I’m writing my book about creative options for getting a no-angst, global and outrageously relevant college education that doesn’t cost a fortune. 

I’ve got a book deal with Random House for my first book.  W00t! 

So, I’m still paying attention to what matters most.   Right now, it’s doing a lot of research and writing so that I can offer help and hope to parents and students across the US who are struggling with the typical hypercompetitive GPA/SAT/AP path to college admissions.

Please excuse my absence here while I focus on helping parents and students get calm, clear and creative about their education options!

Catch me over at my blog about the book at http://www.TheWorldIsYourCampus.com

Interview With Dr. Jeff Brantley, co-author of Five Good Minutes™

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Brantley, MD.  Dr. Brantley is a consulting associate in the Duke University Department of Psychiatry in Durham, North Carolina.  He’s also the founder and director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at Duke University’s Center for Integrative Medicine and the author of Calming Your Anxious Mind. 

 I wanted to talk to Jeff about his series of books on mindfulness called Five Good Minutes™.  He collaborated with Wendy Millstine on this series, and I was interested in how the whole thing got started. 

Here are some highlights from our phone conversation:

Maya:  Jeff, can you tell us your story about creating this series of books? 

Jeff:  Well, Maya, it’s really been something.  I’ve been interested in mindfulness meditation for many years, and back in 1998, I started the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program here at Duke.  As you know, this is a model developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn that focuses on mindfulness meditation as a way to recognize and release the physical and emotional stresses that affect our body and mind. 

And then around 2003, I  published a book largely based on the MBSR work at the Center called Calming Your Anxious Mind.   Well, that book seemed to help people, and of course, I was happy about that.  And then, one day I got a call from Tesilya, an editor at New Harbinger, the publishing company that printed the Calming Your Anxious Mind book.  It seems they had a woman writer they’d been working with named Wendy Millstine and they wanted to come up with a book that would offer some very simple meditation exercises that people could use for just very short periods of time in order to get calm and focused.  Well, I’d never met Wendy, but we sort of started an email correspondence, you know, and we felt like we were a good fit. 

It’s funny, really, because we’re such different people.  She’s a young woman living out on the West Coast, very creative as well as academic, a nutrition consultant with a passion for helping people reduce their stress.  And here I am, this 60-something science guy in North Carolina.  But I think because we represented a range of interests and demographics, we were able to come up with a wonderful combination of meditations, some playful, some more serious, and it just flowed beautifully.  In fact, there were times when we’d be going over the various exercises we’d written and I’d think, “Man, I can’t tell which ones  are mine and which ones are hers!”  So we have a very similar style and voice and I just couldn’t be happier with the way the whole process worked.  It’s been a joy to work with Wendy and I feel so fortunate.

Maya:  So, you started with Five Good Minutes™:  100 Morning Practices To Help You Stay Calm and Focused All Day Long.

Jeff:  Well, yes, and I’ve got to tell you, we never went into this thing expecting that there’d be a series!  I mean, we put the first book together and it just seemed like if you spent five minutes in the morning getting calm and focused, well, maybe you might like to spend five minutes at the end of the day. 

You see, the purpose of all of this is to help people step out of the rush of the day, the constant activity, and take a few minutes to focus on three things:  1) PRESENCE, which is nothing more than paying attention right now, in this moment, 2)  INTENTION, which is a clear focus of attention and energy right now, and 3)  WHOLEHEARTEDNESS, which is acting fully and deeply with a sense of kindness toward yourself and the world. 

Really, it’s about inviting people to dive into attention with a spirit of curiosity and generosity of spirit.  It’s looking at that present moment with a sense of wanting to investigate it, to fully experience it.  We believe that the power of mindfulness is allowing people to connect with the deepest part of themselves and their innate kindness and compassion.  This kindness is what opens us all, opens our spirits wholly to others and to the good work we can do in the world. 

And so, we followed up the morning book with Five Good Minutes™ In the Evening:  100 Mindful Practices To Help You Unwind From The Day and Make the Most of Your Night. 

And it wasn’t long after that that we decided it would be helpful if people had some exercises they could do at work.  I mean, it’s a long day, right?  So, giving some specific tips for people who are feeling stressed in the middle of the work day seemed like a valuable thing.   We published the third book, Five Good Minutes™ At Work: 100 Mindful Practices to Help You Relieve Stress and Bring Your Best to Work.

Maya:  Are you writing another book now?  Is this going to turn into a “Chicken Soup for the Soul” kind of thing? 

Jeff:  (laughing)  Well, we never set out to be famous or rich or anything!  We just started with the one book and now they are doing very well, being translated into other languages.  We’ve got the books printed in Japanese, Korean, German and I think there are some contracts for other ones coming up.  And actually, Wendy and I are just finishing the fourth book in the series, which should be coming out in February of 2008, just in time for Valentine’s Day.  This newest book is focused on ways to become more aware in order to deepen your relationships with loved ones.  The book is going to be called, Five Good Minutes™ With The One You Love:  100 Mindful Practices to Deepen and Renew Your Love Every Day.  It’s for partners and spouses but also for parents who want to connect with their kids, be really present with them, or kids who want to connect with their older parents, or really, it can help in any relationship. 

The key, really, is kindness.  And in order to get to that place of kindness, of wholehearted attention and intention, we need to slow down enough to really notice what is going on inside our skin and outside it.   The books offer ideas that anyone can use for just five minutes to create greater awareness of their inner life and the outer world.

Maya:  Jeff, who did you write this series for?  In the beginning, were you developing the idea for those who were brand new to meditation or as a supplement for those already familiar with it? 

Jeff:  Well, to be honest, I think we just really wanted to create lots of different doorways for anyone to use to reconnect to the human spirit.  And Wendy came up with some really beautiful practices, and I think we managed to put together a good combination of things to appeal to lots of people.  And listen, we figured that out of 100 practices in each book, if the reader could take just one of those and make it a regular part of their day or a practical tool for them to use on a consistent basis, we’d be thrilled.  You don’t need to try all 100.  It’s more important to choose the ones that sort of call out to you.  We wanted that range, and we wanted to have something for everyone. 

And yet, I have to say that meditation isn’t for everyone, so we did try to include some practices that are, like I said, a little more playful.  Some focus on movement, for example, more than visualization.  We know that people do respond to different things, and we hope that even if someone isn’t into meditation that they will view these with curiosity and openness and approach this concept of spending five good minutes with joy and a sense of seeing the possibilities.  And of course, people might be inspired to change things a bit and come up with their own perfect practice.

Maya:  Tell us about the process of promoting the books.

Jeff:  Well, it’s been really interesting.  When I first started doing radio shows and such for the morning book, I was on all kinds of programs, from the crazy morning drive jocks to the more thoughtful commentators.  It was really an experience and I learned a lot from those who interviewed me and especially the callers who had questions and comments.  And the theme was really about the stresses of life.  No matter what kind of town I was in, what kind of audience was listening, I was getting the same kind of questions:  “How can I get through the day when I feel like I’m ready to scream all the time?”  You know, just a lot of worry and tension and anger. 

And people responded so positively to the message in the book that you can use five good minutes a day to really help you connect to the best part of yourself.  They needed to hear that.  They needed to know that they didn’t have to devote hours to meditation, that they could use these five minute practices and get some wonderful benefits. 

Well, things kind of took off.  Oprah’s magazine picked the morning book as one of its five Best New Health books, so that really got things going. 

But I have to tell you that the most recent tour, the one for Five Good Minutes™ At Work, was on a whole different level in that there seemed to be so much more stress, so much more pain, really, in the callers and others who talked to me.  It was palpable.  I guess it took me a little by surprise since I’d been out promoting the previous two books and thought I knew what to expect, but honestly, the level of angst was so much greater this last time.  And so I felt more resolved than ever to get out and speak, to continue to come up with ways to get this message out to people.

Maya:  Jeff, in view of that, do you have any plans for new projects? 

Jeff:  Well, yes.  In fact, I’m busy now working on a companion book to the Calming Your Anxious Mind book.  This one will have some specific meditations, some quite a bit longer than five minutes, to help those who are suffering with this stress and tension I saw all around me.  We’ll work with different themes and approaches in this book, which I think is coming out in the summer of 2008. 

Maya:  Jeff, are you using the books with any particular group?  Have you seen others using it in settings such as prisons or with at-risk youth, for example? 

Jeff:  Well, Maya, those are great ideas and I would be delighted to help someone take the books into various communities.  I think that any facilitator with some experience with meditation and a connection with a particular group could find ways to help others with the Five Good Minutes™ series and I’m certainly open to that and would encourage it.  I know, for example, about a local church that is using one of the books with its youth group.  I think that is a wonderful way to help kids deal with the stresses of their lives. 

I also think that the work book could be very helpful in any workplace setting.  I know there is an executive health program here in town that has been recommending the books to their clients.  These business people might not have time to attend an eight-week MBSR series, but they can take the book home and find five-minute periods in their day to practice these exercises.   I mean, I’ve used some exercises myself as part of our morning staff meetings and I know people really appreciate the opportunity to take a moment in the day to focus and reconnect. 

Maya:  There are so many possibilities!  And people really need to hear this message again and again in various ways so that eventually they find a practice that really helps them.  So, what’s on your schedule these days?

Jeff:  Well, a number of things.  Next week I’m heading down to Miami.  I was one of several  people invited by the folks at Oprah’s magazine to come down and do a presentation at their gathering of over 4000 participants.  I’m going to be talking to about 500 people from Hyundai about the Five Good Minutes™ concept.  And I’m excited about that.  You know, I think there is so much value in helping people see the power of the human spirit.  When we get caught up in frightened and dangerous thinking, we’re not able to be kind or open.  We can’t connect with any kind of compassion unless we develop the skill to be mindful.

And what I’d like to say to everyone, really, is that this skill is something anyone can learn.  We need to teach it to kids, to everyone.  As kids we have it naturally and though we all tend to lose it over time, we can strengthen our ability to be present, to be intentional and to be wholehearted in what we are doing. 

People need to know that it is accessible, that they can get a whiff of their own capacity for presence.  They can get a taste of the fullness of their own heart.  It’s really much closer than you think.

Paying attention on purpose is such a simple but beautiful and profound premise.  We don’t have to make it into something huge, something that takes up a great deal of our time.  We don’t have to go off and live in a cave for a year, though that has its value.  We can do the simplest things.  Pay attention to the breeze on your face.  Feel the warmth of the coffee cup in your hand.  Notice things. 

Maya:  Thank you so much for your time and your terrific work, Jeff.  I truly appreciate it and I’m happy to steer my blog visitors to your site, www.FiveGoodMinutes.com, for more information about your wonderful books.

Jeff:  Thank you, Maya, for getting the word out and for doing your good work to help others see the value of incorporating mindfulness in simple, playful ways. 

Dr. Jeff Brantley’s Five Good Minutes™

Morning or evening? 

Whether you’re looking for ways to spend Five Good Minutes™ calming yourself each morning or each evening, Dr. Jeff Brantley has a hundred or so suggestions for you. 

I’ll be interviewing him later today so watch for my next post on his simple mindfulness techniques you can use morning, night, at work, or to enhance a loving relationship.