MPDR Arhchives Blog Post #258 - May 19, 2015

PAUSE for 3 Mindful Breaths

image by M. Lee Freedman

"The primary focus of this path of choosing wisely...is learning to stay present. Pausing very briefly, frequently throughout the day, is an almost effortless way to do this. For just a few seconds we can be right here. Meditation is another way to train in learning to stay or...learning to come back, to return to the present over and over again."

~ Pema Chödrön

from Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears

Wishing you many moments

of returning your attention to the present moment

Lee

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

http://mpdrarchives.blogspot.ca/

MPDR Archives Blog Post #257 - May 18, 2015

With an attitude of kindness and curiosity

Direct your attention

to feeling the sensations

of your next 3 breaths

image by M. Lee Freedman

"When you pay close attention to each moment, you can start to see the small wonders of life. Maybe the sky is a fabulous shade of blue today. Maybe your best friend’s smile warms your heart. There are wonders in every moment, just waiting for you to be present and recognize them. Maybe if you pay close attention, it feels good just to breathe. The cool air entering your lungs—how wonderful that can feel, like a glass of cool water on a hot day! Even when things are stressful in your life, this very breath can be a small moment of joy. Just by paying attention to your breath, you might feel grateful to be alive, grateful that your lungs are working and that you have air to breathe.

Be careful, however, to not get too attached to whatever it is you’re enjoying. Perhaps you have a tendency to want to hold on to happy moments, wishing every moment could be like that. But every moment can’t be happy, and, in hard times, wishing for things to be different than the way they are will only increase your suffering. With mindfulness, you can breathe in and enjoy, then breathe out and let go. You don’t need to hold on to anything. Each breath heralds a new moment—and, perhaps, something new to enjoy. You can practice mindfulness in this way anytime, no matter where you are."

Dr, Dzung Vo

Excerpt from The Mindful Teen Book

Wishing you moments to notice the wonders of life today

 

Lee

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

http://mpdrarchives.blogspot.ca/

MPDR Archives Blog Post #256 - May 17, 2015

PAUSE 

Gratefully and Mindfully 

Attend to the sensations of your next three breaths

image by M. Lee Freedman

“I like to walk alone on country paths,
rice plants and wild grasses on both sides,
putting each foot down on the earth
in mindfulness, knowing
that I walk on the wondrous earth.
In such moments, existence is a miraculous
and mysterious reality.

People usually consider walking on water
or in thin air a miracle.
But I think the real miracle
is not to walk either on water or in thin air,
but to walk on earth.
Every day we are engaged in a miracle
which we don’t even recognize:
a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves,
the black, curious eyes of a child–
our own two eyes.
All is a miracle.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

 http://www.movemequotes.com/top-50-be-thankful-quotes/#sthash.NzpaopNL.dpuf

Wishing you moments of joy today

Lee

 

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

http://mpdrarchives.blogspot.ca/

MPDR Archives Blog Post #255 - May 16, 2015

Pause to FEEL  the next 3 breaths

flowing in and out of your body.

“Smiling may seem like an involuntary response to something cute or funny but it is much more than that.

Studies suggest that smiling, forced or not, can have a positive effect on your mood, decrease stress levels, and even make everyone around you feel better.”

-Alyssa Detweiler

Excerpt from post "9 Surprising Reasons Why You Should Smile More”

The post elaborates on the following 9 benefits of smiling.

1. Smiling is contagious

2. Smiling lowers stress and anxiety

3. Smiling releases endorphins

4. You’ll be more attractive

5. Smiling strengthens your immune system

6. You’ll be more approachable

7. Smiling will make you more comfortable

8. You’ll seem more trustworthy

9. You’ll be a better leader

If you are curious to find out more about how smiling can provide these benefits, and have the time, please click on this link to find the full post:http://inspiyr.com/9-benefits-of-smiling/

Wishing you

and those around you

the  benefits from your smiles today

Lee

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

http://mpdrarchives.blogspot.ca/

Welcome to new recipients of Mindfulness Practice Daily Reminders

As many of us have experienced, mindfulness is pretty simple, but not so easy and remembering to practice mindful awareness can be quite challenging. 

These daily reminders are intended to help us remember our intention to practice present moment awareness through formal and informal mindfulness practice.

Opening a reminder email represents a decision to pause, step out of automatic pilot mode and into the here and now by intentionally bringing attention to the sensations of three breaths. Then proceed with your day.

You may choose to treat this as an experiment by noticing if and how this brief pause impacts on the next moments of your day.

The second part of the reminder email consists of a quote, poem, image, link to article and/or link to short video relevant to the practice of mindfulness. The images included in the emails have all been created from my mindfulness practice with a camera. 

I suggest consciously choosing whether you have the time and/or the interest in reading/watching anything further, rather than automatically clicking on the link.  In this way you are practicing bringing mindful awareness practice into conscious decision making and action.

The mindfulness practice daily reminders that have been sent out since July 2014 are now archived on a blog called MPDR Archives.  Here is a link to the first entry that describes the history of and intention for the reminders.http://mpdrarchives.blogspot.ca/2015/01/welcome-to-archives-of-mindfulness.html.

Please feel free to share these reminders with others who may be interested.  If you know anyone who would like to be included in the list of recipients of the reminders, please ask them to email my assistant at drmlfreedman@hotmail.com.

Please let me know if you would like to remove your name from the email list at any time.

MPDR Archives Blog Post #254 - May 15, 2015

Pause

Be aware of the sensations

of breathing in and breathing out

for the following three breaths

images by M. Lee Freedman

"The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.”

 ~ Steve Furtick

Wishing you the peace and contentment 

that may arise from 

being in the moments of your day 

without getting caught up 

in comparing and judging

Lee

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

http://mpdrarchives.blogspot.ca/

MPDR Archives Blog Post #253 - May 14, 2015

Pause for 3 Mindful Breaths

 image by M. Lee Freedman 

Today’s reminder includes a link to a 5 minute video in which Dr Dan Siegel innovatively describes how mindfulness practice can impact the brain to help regulate emotions . If you are interested in understanding what happens in the brain when emotions over-ride rational thought and wise action, you can click on the following link to view Dr Siegel’s explanation: https://youtu.be/vESKrzvgA40

  

Wishing you many mindful moments today

Lee

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

http://mpdrarchives.blogspot.ca/

MPDR Archives Blog Post #252 - May 13, 2015

Pause for 3 Mindful Breaths

image by M. Lee Freedman 

 “One thing At A Time

"For a couple of decades now, the catch phrase has been ‘multi-tasking’. Some people boast of their multitasking abilities on their resumes or at job interviews, others do it among friends and family as they talk about the things they try to get done in a day.

There is a myth that multitasking make us more productive; in reality, it drains us faster. Trying to spread our attention so thin and keep up with so many things makes us more prone to mistakes. We’re not more productive; we’re just busier, both mentally and physically, exhausting ourselves needlessly.

Try changing your focus to doing just one thing at a time. Take on each task with full awareness, one by one. When mindfully doing a task, you’re less prone to rushing, mistakes or forgetting details. You’ll find you can be more efficient with the task, and finish it without feeling worn out or tense.

When you’re ‘doing’ simply be there fully, with all of your attention, for each moment of it. Remember – Life is not a to-do list. It’s meant to be enjoyed!” 

(excerpt from post 7 Ways to Bring More Mindfulness into Your Life Today

http://www.everyday-mindfulness.org/7-ways-to-bring-more-mindfulness-into-your-life-today/

Wishing you a mindful day

Lee

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

http://mpdrarchives.blogspot.ca/

MPDR Archives Blog Post #251 - May 12, 2015

Bring your attention

to the flow of

the following three breaths

image by M. Lee Freedman 

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don't.” 

― Steve Maraboli

Wishing you the peace of mind

that may arise with accepting that which you cannot change

and the courage to change what you can

Lee

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

http://mpdrarchives.blogspot.ca/

MPDR Archives Blog Post #250 - May 11, 2015

With an attitude of kindness and curiosity

Direct your attention

to feeling the sensations

of your next 3 breaths

 image by M. Lee Freedman

It Felt Love

How did the rose

Ever open its heart

And give to this world

All its beauty?

It felt the encouragement of light

Against its being,

Otherwise,

We all remain

Too frightened

by Mary Oliver 

Wishing you beautiful moments today

Lee

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

http://mpdrarchives.blogspot.ca/

MPDR Archives Blog Post #249 - May 10, 2015

Pause

Take a moment to step out of the auto pilot “doing mode” 

to gratefully bring awareness to the sensations of 

your next three breaths

image by M. Lee Freedman

What does it mean to be mothered? To mother someone? 

What are the core feelings in these experiences?

It’s universal: all of us have a mother. 

"Mother’s Day” focuses on the person who raised you and in many cases brought you into this world.

But let’s step outside of that cultural “Mother’s Day” paradigm and think about an experience in life: to mother or to be mothered. Not the part about bringing someone into this world — that’s not a necessary ingredient here. We’re focusing on the core feelings involved in the experience of mothering or being mothered, no matter who you are.”

-Jill Sarkozi

if you are interested in reading the rest of this post here is the link: http://safekeepingstories.com/2015/05/words-to-describe-mom-mother/

To everyone who has mothered

and has been mothered:

May you be happy

May you be healthy

May you feel loved

May you be safe

May you live with ease

May you have peace of mind

Lee

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

http://mpdrarchives.blogspot.ca/