MPDR Archives Blog Post #43 - September 7, 2014

Pause and intentionally bring attention to the next 3 breaths

These mindfulness practice daily reminders are primarily intended to help us remember to practice living with intention and compassion for our own wellbeing and for the good of others. Receiving the reminder email is an invitation to step out of automaticity and into the present moment through attending to the sensations of the breath.  The reminders also may include an image, quote, poem, link to a short article or link to a short video.

I suggest that you mindfully choose whether or not to follow any links depending on time availability, interest, and/or inclination, rather than automatically or through a sense of obligation. Awareness of choice is one of the many benefits of mindfulness practice.

As we are social animals, relationships play a very integral role in our wellbeing.  The daily reminders for the next several days will include messages about mindfulness in relationships at home, work, in the world, and with ourselves.

      

The following quote is an excerpt from a helpful blog post by Lisa Firestone about the practice and benefits of mindfulness in a couple relationship - one of the most challenging relationships in which to practice.

“Mindfulness is a skill we can acquire, a compassionate practice we can integrate into our lives, allowing us to have an easy, always available, method to calm ourselves down when distressed. Mindfulness increases our awareness of what we are experiencing and allows us the space to decide how we want to act in our daily lives. It is easy to picture how enhancing these abilities within ourselves would lead to better outcomes in our relationships.”  - Lisa Firestone

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-firestone/mindfulness-relationships_b_3333709.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

Have a mindful evening

Lee

M. Lee Freedman, MD,CM FRCP(C)