Mindfulness, or Bodyfulness
Watching an old video of a talk by Jon Kabat-Zinn, I very much enjoyed a question he asked. He reflected upon how so much of our education is focused on teaching one how to think. But, he asked, how often have teachers in formal education sought to help others explore how to be aware? Thinking happens above the shoulders. It is an activity of the brain – neural networks, creating, analyzing, categorizing. In contrast, awareness, is something that involves our body. Our whole body. Our hearing and sight, our sense of smell, taste and...
read moreCrisis Text Line
I just came across a really interesting article in the New York Times. It describes how crisis hotlines have started to adopt texting abilities. It turns out that, especially with teenagers, texting can be a very effective way to get help. In some situations it may even be more effective than a phone call. The non-profit group Crisis Text Line has been developing this technology for two years now. Much of the development has been around how to counsel others effectively through text. One of their main goals is to help people connect with...
read moreA Rite of Change
I just opened a book, The Fruitful Darkness, by Joan Halifax. This is the passage I just read: When we sever ourselves from society in a rite of change, there is an invisible door that we pass through that has no words on the other side. On this side of the door, says Garcia Larco, “Our eyes remain on the surface, like water flowers behind which we hide / our trembling bodies floating in an unseen world.” It is this door to the depths that opens when we die. When we pass through this door, we always lose something. Something must...
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