Mindfulness: helping employees to deal with stress

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• Mindfulness: helping employees to deal with stress
• Ten tips for mindful working
• Mindful Simplicity: Decluttering, Cleaning & Leaving No Trace
• Early Morning Meditation Inspiration - 9/4/2012
• Let it R.A.I.N.
• Organic Foods No More Nutritious, Safe than Conventional, Study Says
• The real four noble truths
• Enlightenment explained in 47 words
• ‘Samsara’ filmmakers seek meditative flow
• Samsara: the trailer

Mindfulness: helping employees to deal with stress Posted: 04 Sep 2012 01:00 PM PDT Occupational Health: Occupational health teams should be encouraged to get behind the concept of mindfulness, an alternative approach to helping staff cope with pressure experienced in the workplace, says Suzy Bashford. The UK's first Mindfulness at Work conference, organised by Mindfulnet, took place in February this year. The message from the event was that mindfulness, a meditation-based approach to stress management, can provide an antidote to the relentless pressure and information overload that exists in many UK businesses. It can also help employees thrive under stress and relate better to colleagues or clients. The growing body of evidence in this area (there are … Read the original article » Read More @ Source

Ten tips for mindful working Posted: 04 Sep 2012 12:00 PM PDT If you walk to the bus stop, Tube or train station, turn off your phone. Feel your feet on the ground and the movement in your legs and hips. Notice how you're breathing. If you drive to work, take a few moments when you first get into your car just to notice your breath and your body. As you sit at your desk or workstation, take a few moments from time to time to tune in to your body sensations. Notice any tension that might be there and breathe into it – softening and easing. When you have a break, instead of reading the paper or searching on the internet, get away from your computer – take a short walk and get outside if you can. At lunchtime, turn off your phone and get some air. Pause. If you meet with colleagues over lunch, try talking about things other than work. Find ways of setting up mindfulness cues in your workspace. Perhaps when your phone rings you could use that as an opportunity to check in with your breathing. Before heading home, review the day. Acknowledge what you've achieved, make a list of what you need to do tomorrow and, if you can, put your work down. Use your journey home as a way of making a transition. Walk or drive mindfully. Take your time. Change out of your work clothes soon after you get in and make a point of greeting everyone at home in turn. If you live alone, feel what it is like to enter the quiet space of your own home. From: The Mindful Workplace (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), by Michael Chaskalson, CEO of Mindfulness Works. Read More @ Source

Mindful Simplicity: Decluttering, Cleaning & Leaving No Trace Posted: 04 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT Post written by Leo Babauta. Our home isn't as clean and sparse as a Zen temple, but when I see the clutter and dust of other people's homes, it reminds me of how far we've come. This is not a judgment on others, nor a proclamation of how great we are at cleaning and decluttering, but a reminder of what I've learned. Cleaning and decluttering, for me, are mindfulness practices. They are not chores that I dread, nor ways to strive for a perfect living environment, but ways to practice living in the present moment. As such, they are some of my favorite things to do. I wipe a counter with a rag, but I'm not doing it thinking, "This kitchen is so dirty!" (judgment) or "I wish people would clean up after themselves!" (expecting things to be different) or "I have a lot of work to do today" (future thinking) or "My son really got on my nerves when he said that this morning" (dwelling on the past). Or at least, when I do think these things, I notice them, and return to the wiping. As I wipe the counter, I notice the crumbs and dried spilled liquid. I feel the rag going over the bumpy surface of the counter, and gradually feel the surface smoothing out. I feel the tension in my shoulders and jaw, and relax them. I become aware of my breath as it comes in and goes out. I rinse the rag out carefully, cleaning it and watching the dirty water run down the drain. This is practice for a mindful life. It is also life, already, not practice but the actual event. Wiping things down, mindfully, is just as full of wonder as any other moment in my life. I do the same as I wash dishes, declutter my closet or shelf, wipe down the sink or toilet, sweep. Each moment I spend doing these things is joyful wonder, and I am grateful for the moment I'm in. The Principles In the next section, I'm going to present a list of guidelines, but they're just a bunch of specific things that help remind me of the general principles. The most important things are the general principles, which I try to remember: 1. When you clean, just clean. Don't plan, don't have your mind on the next task as you're doing the current task, don't listen to a podcast or watch TV as you're doing the task at hand. Just wipe. Just sweep. Just declutter. Just wash, just rinse. 2. Do your work with gratitude and compassion. Before you start, remember to be grateful for what you have, for being able to clean or declutter. Be grateful for the people you have in your life, and remember why you're grateful for them. Then remember you're cleaning out of compassion: for the people in your life, so that their day might be a bit better for having a clean counter or sink, for yourself, so that you might have a nice uncluttered space in which to read a good book. This is your intention, and it will help you remember to be mindful. 3. Pay attention to your thoughts, body, actions. Practice focusing your attention: on the rag, on the broom, on the dust. But also notice your thoughts: are you thinking about other things? Are you judging others? Are you wishing things were different? Are you angry? Don't banish the thoughts, but notice them. Then return to the cleaning. Notice too as you clean your body, and your breathing. Notice everything about the moment, immerse yourself in the moment. 4. Leave no trace. This, of course, is a philosophy of those who use the outdoors — to have a minimal impact on the land, to leave only footprints and take only pictures. But what about in our homes and workplaces? These aren't quite as natural as a lake or mountain, perhaps, but they are our habitats. We must live here, often with loved ones, and so we should be mindful of the impact we're having on this habitat. Leave no trace means that you don't leave a mess, that you dispose of your waste properly, that you are respectful of other people in your space. The Guidelines With the above general principles, I've started creating a list of guidelines. These are not rules, but guideposts against which you can check yourself, to help you pay close attention to what you're doing. I should note that I learned a lot of this from FlyLady, the gracious and mindful staff at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and from Dogen's Instructions for the Tenzo. Wash your bowl when you're done with it. All other dishes too, of course. Clean as you go. If you're chopping vegetables, clean up the cutting board and knife when you're done, and put food scraps in the compost. Don't pile things on the counters or in the sink. Have a place for everything. If something doesn't have a place, designate one. Put things back in their place when you're done. Start decluttering where you are. Overwhelmed by all that you need to declutter? Start right where you are, and pick a few things that you don't need or use, and put them in a bag or box to be donated or recycled. You've now started. Tomorrow, do it again. Wipe your sink. Have the sink clean when you're done with it. If it's dirty, scrub it. There shouldn't be dishes in the sink. Wipe the counters and stove. When you're done preparing food, wipe things down. It just takes a minute. If a floor is dirty, take a minute to sweep it mindfully. It's a nice break in your day. Handle knives with care. Swish the toilet bowl. Have a toilet brush near the toilet, and if you notice it even a little dirty after you use it, take the brush and give the bowl a quick swish and flush. Keep rags and scrubbers handy. I keep a scrub sponge in my bathroom to wipe down the toilet or shower when they get a little dirty. It only takes a minute, and having the scrubber there means I have no reason not to do it. Keep flat surfaces clear. My desk has nothing on it but my laptop and a photo of my wife. Counters and tabletops are clear. Floors have only furniture and rugs. These are not places for storing a bunch of junk. If you notice cluttered flat surfaces, clear them, one at a time. Get rid of the items, or give them a home. Take care of your tools as if they were your own eyes. Be gentle with those around you. Read More @ Source

Early Morning Meditation Inspiration - 9/4/2012 Posted: 04 Sep 2012 09:00 AM PDT "He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye."   ~The Buddha Technorati Tags: Buddha Buddhist Buddhism Meditation Dharma Read More @ Source

Let it R.A.I.N. Posted: 04 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT When you're young, the territory of the psyche is like a vast estate, with rolling hills, forests and plains, swamps and meadows. So many things can be experienced, expressed, wanted, and loved. But as life goes along, most people pull back from major parts of their psyche. Perhaps a swamp of sadness was painful, or fumes of toxic wishes were alarming, or jumping exuberantly in a meadow of joy irritated a parent into a scolding. Or maybe you saw someone else get in trouble for feeling, saying, or doing something and you resolved, consciously or unconsciously, to Stay Away From That Place Forever. In whatever way it happens, most of us end up by mid-adulthood living in the gate house, venturing out a bit, but lacking much sense of the whole estate, the great endowment of the whole psyche. Emotions are shut down, energetic and erotic wellsprings of vitality are capped, deep longings are set aside, sub-personalities are shackled and silenced, old pain and troubles are buried, the roots of reactions – hurt, anger, feelings of inadequacy – are veiled so we can't get at them, and we live at odds with both Nature and our own nature. Sure, the processes of the psyche need some regulation. Not all thoughts should be spoken, and not all desires should be acted upon! But if you suppress, disown, push away, recoil from, or deny major parts of yourself, then you feel cut off, alienated from yourself, lacking vital information about what is really going on inside, no longer at home in your own skin or your own mind – which feels bad, lowers effectiveness at home and work, fuels interpersonal issues, and contributes to health problems. So what can we do? How can we reclaim, use, enjoy, and be at peace with our whole estate – without being overwhelmed by its occasional swamps and fumes? This is where R.A.I.N. comes in. How? R.A.I.N. is an acronym developed by Michelle McDonald, a senior mindfulness teacher, to summarize a powerful way to expand self-awareness. (I've adapted it a bit below, and any flaws in the adaptation are my own, not Michelle's.) Check out Meditations to Change Your Brain, and other titles by Rick Hanson. R = Recognize: Notice that you are experiencing something, such as irritation at the tone of voice used by your partner, child, or co-worker. Step back into observation rather than reaction. Without getting into story, simply name what is present, such as "annoyance," "thoughts of being mistreated," "body firing up," "hurt," "wanting to cry." A = Accept (Allow): Acknowledge that your experience is what it is, even if it's unpleasant. Be with it without attempting to change it. Try to have self-compassion instead of self-criticism. Don't add to the difficulty by being hard on yourself. I = Investigate (Inquire): Try to find an attitude of interest, curiosity, and openness. Not detached intellectual analysis but a gently engaged exploration, often with a sense of tenderness or friendliness toward what it finds. Open to other aspects of the experience, such as softer feelings of hurt under the brittle armor of anger. It's OK for your inquiry to be guided by a bit of insight into your own history and personality, but try to stay close to the raw experience and out of psychoanalyzing yourself. N = Not-identify (Not-self): Have a feeling/thought/etc., instead of being it. Disentangle yourself from the various parts of the experience, knowing that they are small, fleeting aspects of the totality you are. See the streaming nature of sights, sounds, thoughts, and other contents of mind, arising and passing away due mainly to causes that have nothing to do with you, that are impersonal. Feel the contraction, stress, and pain that comes from claiming any part of this stream as "I," or "me," or "mine" – and sense the spaciousness and peace that comes when experiences simply flow. * * * R.A.I.N. and related practices of spacious awareness are fundamental to mental health, and always worth doing in their own right. Additionally, sometimes they alone enable painful or challenging contents of mind to dissipate and pass away. But often it is not enough to simply be with the mind, even in as profound a way as R.A.I.N. Then we need to work with the mind, by reducing what's negative and increasing what's positive. (It's also necessary to work with the mind to build up the inner resources needed to be with it; being with and working with the mind are not at odds with each other as some say, but in fact support each other.) And whatever ways we work with the garden of the mind – pulling weeds and planting flowers – will be more successful after it R.A.I.N.s. Read More @ Source

Organic Foods No More Nutritious, Safe than Conventional, Study Says Posted: 04 Sep 2012 05:00 AM PDT CREDIT: Vegetables and olive oil photo via Shutterstock Organic foods are no more nutritious than conventionally grown foods, and no less likely to be contaminated with certain bacteria, according to a new review of studies. However, organics were less likely to contain pesticide residues, or harbor bacteria that were resistant to antibiotics, compared with conventional alternatives, the study found. Though farming practices vary, organic plants are generally grown without the use of pesticides or industrial fertilizers, and organically raised animals are not routinely treated with antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic foods typically contain no genetically modified organisms. Consumers purchase organic foods for a number of reasons, including perceptions that organic foods may be safer or more nutritious than conventionally grown foods. However, the health benefits of organic foods remain unclear. "Our aim was to understand the evidence about differences in nutrient and contaminant levels between organic and conventional foods," said study researcher Dr. Crystal Smith-Spangler, an internist at the Stanford School of Medicine. Though prices vary, consumers may pay up to twice as much for organic as conventional foods. What the researchers found Smith-Spangler and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 200 studies comparing nutrient and contaminant levels in organic and conventional foods, including fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, poultry, milk and eggs. They found no significant differences between organic and conventional products, in terms of their vitamin content. "Despite the widespread perception that organically produced foods are more nutritious than conventional alternatives, we did not find robust evidence to support this perception," the researchers wrote. Organic and conventional foods were about equally likely to be contaminated with disease-causing bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella. About 7 percent of organic produce, and 6 percent of conventionalCK produce was contaminated with E. coli. For chicken, 35 percent of organic, and 34 percent of conventional samples were contaminated with Salmonella. But when the researchers looked at pesticide contamination and antibiotic resistance, conventional and organic foods differed. The researchers found pesticide residue on 7 percent of the organic produce samples, but 38 percent of conventional produce samples. In all, organic produce had a 30 percent lower risk of containing pesticides than conventional produce. The researchers also found that conventional chicken and pork were 33 percent more likely than organic products to harbor bacteria that were resistant to three or more antibiotics. "The data on pesticides and antibiotic-resistant bacteria is very compelling, and in favor of organic foods," said Charles Benbrook, chief scientist at the Organic Center, a Boulder, Colo. organization that promotes the benefits of organic food and farming. However, the researchers said the difference between organic and conventional produce were only slight, in terms of how likely it was that the pesticide levels on the food reached the maximum acceptable limits. The risk of either type of produce exceeding regulatory limits may be small, Smith-Spangler said. What the findings mean Experts have debated the routine use of antibiotics in animal farming. The extent to which antibiotic use in livestock contributes to antibiotic-resistant infections in people remains unclear. Overuse of antibiotics in human medicine is likely the major cause of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans, according to the study authors. "It is impossible to say from this study whether one method of farming is better than the other, though we are not seeing the negatives associated with organics that we are with some of the conventional products," said Gene Lester, a plant physiologist for the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture in Maryland. While the findings are interesting, he cautioned, they are far from definitive. Variation within organic farming practices, and differences in the way previous studies reported their findings make it difficult to draw conclusions, Lester said. "We found very few studies that compared the health of human populations consuming largely organic versus conventional diets, so it is difficult to interpret the clinical significance of the findings," Smith-Spangler said. Future studies should investigate whether the decreased risk of exposure to pesticide residues in organic foods leads to real health improvements, particularly for pregnant women and children, Smith-Spangler said. The review is published today (Sept. 3) in the Annals of Internal Medicine. FollowMyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @MyHealth_MHND. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Read More @ Source

The real four noble truths Posted: 03 Sep 2012 11:00 PM PDT The first Noble Truth is about suffering.  But his doesn't tell us much.  So we look through the canon.  As luck would have it, we find this which explains just what is actually suffering. "And what , bhikkhus, is the noble truth of suffering? It should be said: the five aggregates subject to clinging; that is, the form aggregate subject to clinging [all the way to] the consciousness aggregate subject to clinging.  This is called the noble truth of suffering" (S. v. 425). The suffering aggregates begin with birth and continue through sickness, old age, death, etc.  So now we know that our psychophysical body is the basis of our suffering which consists of material shape, feeling, perception, habitual tendencies and consciousness.  The second Noble Truth is about the etiology of suffering, that is, the cause or origin of suffering.  Although desire or thirst is the origin, we need more specific information.  The origin of suffering, which is desire, has to be connected with our psychophysical body.  Again we search through the canon and find this: "And these five aggregates affected by clinging are dependently arisen. The desire, indulgence, inclination, and holding based on these five aggregates affected by clinging is the origination of suffering" (M. i. 191). (Emphasis added.) Not only are the Five Aggregates suffering, but now we learn the Five Aggregates are connected with the origin of suffering insofar we cling to them because of our desire for them. The third Noble Truth has to do with the stopping or transcendence of suffering.  In connection with the Five Aggregates, we find this passage which explains the stopping of suffering. "The removal of desire and lust, the abandonment of desire and lust for these five aggregates affected by clinging is the stopping of suffering" (M. i. 191). As for the path, itself, the fourth Noble Truth is completed with right samadhi (samyak samadhi) and with the tenfold path of the Arhat, is completed with right liberation (samyak vimukta).  Both are spiritual, non-physical accomplishments that don't rely on the aggregates.  Also, the eightfold and tenfold paths are not moral paths but ones that help to insure spiritual liberation from the carnal body or the same, the Five Aggregates.  Read More @ Source

Enlightenment explained in 47 words Posted: 03 Sep 2012 10:00 PM PDT Just got this email from a Church of the Churchless visitor. Nicely said from someone about my age who looks on enlightenment pretty much the same way I do now. I never knew what to believe until my early twenties when I came to believe in enlightenment. Now, at the age of sixty-four, having found that I can't explain clearly what enlightenment could possibly be, I can't believe in it anymore, and I find this inability enlightening.       Read More @ Source

‘Samsara’ filmmakers seek meditative flow Posted: 03 Sep 2012 03:00 PM PDT Pan Grady, SFGate: Twenty years after they made "Baraka," filmmakers Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson are back with "Samsara," with Fricke directing, Magidson producing and both men credited with concept, treatment and editing. Shot in gorgeous 70mm over five years in 25 countries on five continents, like "Baraka" and 1983′s classic "Koyaanisqatsi," where Fricke started his career as co-writer, co-editor and director of photography, "Samsara" is dazzling visual poetry that blends the sacred with the profane, the industrial with the natural. Fricke and Magidson recently sat down for a phone chat about their latest cinematic wonder. Q: How do you find out about some … Read the original article » Read More @ Source

Samsara: the trailer Posted: 03 Sep 2012 02:00 PM PDT SAMSARA Theatrical Trailer from Baraka & Samsara on Vimeo. Ron Fricke's is showing in select theaters. By all reports it's an unmissable event. Check out the stunning trailer above. And make sure you watch it in full screen! Read More @ Source

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