Category: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

Shifting Focus: From Work to Art

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This week, I found the Alie Ward’s podcast “Why Humans Require Hobbies” on her Ologies website. The podcast featured the writer, Julia Holtz, who wrote The Connection Cure, which centers on what matters to you in treating and preventing illnesses.  Julia is a salugenologist – simply meaning she studies what makes us healthy. Her book explains the science behind going into nature, what makes you happy, and making time for hobbies.  This topic got my attention because I am gradually, and I mean grad…u…al…ly shifting from school being the center of my life to art being the center of my life.

Art as Gratitude

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I hadn’t thought of art as a vehicle for gratitude, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was exactly that – art is a prayer sent out to all calling for peace, beauty, love, all the colors of the rainbow, the rain coming softly down washing everything clean. This weekend, I looked back at some of the photos I’ve taken and suddenly saw prayers of gratitude embedded in their images.

Welcoming Autumn: Home in the Woods

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It's not easy settling back in even though I have had a lot of practice!  My mind is a jumble, my home is a mess of summer and school paraphernalia, and there are lists upon lists upon list of things to accomplish. It takes at least the first two weeks of September to feel back home in my rightful place.  The sacks of apples and displays of assorted pumpkins at the grocery store helps.  Autumn is coming, and I can take a deep breath, find an easy rhythm, and enjoy what is unfolding before me.

Artist at Play in Maine

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Art is a little less familiar to me. When I take a photo, I compose in the moment and then it is finished almost instantaneously. I want to see if I can play with photographic images much the way I play with words when I compose poetry. I want to make sure I keep that playful, childlike mindset. I hope this artful adventure will teach me something new about the creative process. As I age, I want the world to stay fresh. I want to keep my curiosity.and youthful perspective.

Support Stuffies: Managing Test Anxiety

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There was a lot of anxiety in the room even though we had tried to make the students as familiar with the test as we could possibly do.  We also did not place a lot of importance on the test, but the children sense it is important, it does reflect on how smart they are, and it does matter.

Spring Break Artifacts

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It is my last couple of days on spring break.  I’ve slept late, ate good food, written poems about food, and took long walks capturing the beauty I saw with my camera.  I am trying to do things that nourish me, that uplift me, that help to better understand my purpose. The sunshine and warm weather has definitely lifted my spirits, and I hope I have absorbed enough of its healing energy to bring back north to our muddy March season.

Mindfulness in Teaching: Be Where Your Feet Are

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The author, Suzanne Dailey, noted that she and her girlfriends play a game called “Where are your fee?” in which they send each other photos of their feet to check in with each other about what they are doing and how they are feeling. This game helps each person consider where they are in the present moment.  It helps them reflect and shift their attention. It’s a gentle reminder to “Be where your feet are.”

Sew Easy: A Heartfelt Journey

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Many things that my mother loved, I love - teaching, making art, reading, eating cheese and crackers, putting on bright lipstick, and sewing.  My mother was an amazing seamstress and dress designer well before she had kids and became a teacher.  She would hold a piece of fabric in her hand, fold it, cut it without a pattern, and make something wonderful to wear.  She had a gift, and it was magical.