Mindfulness Mode

Taste and Mindfulness is our topic today. Hot weather and ice-cream go hand in hand. Thinking about ice-cream takes me back to my childhood, growing up on the farm when we got an ice-cream freezer. This ice-cream making machine was great because we already had fresh milk, fresh cream and fresh eggs. My mom would make up the recipe and my dad would get ice to put in the machine with some salt, which would lower the temperature of the ice.

My four brothers and I would be watching and waiting impatiently, crowded around the kitchen table watching this machine magically make homemade ice-cream. We could barely wait until it was time to stop the machine and look inside. Would it be ready? Or would we have to put the lid back on and let it churn a little longer? By the time the ice-cream was ready it felt like Christmas morning. We were all ready with bowls and spoons each one of us wanted to be the first to 'dig in'.

Suddenly - BRAIN FREEZE!!! You had to be really careful or you would experience the powerful, painful sensation of brain freeze. The delicious flavour combined with the exciting ice-cream making experience, then coupled with brain freeze seemed to etch this experience into my mind forever.

This was a mindful experience. Once that ice-cream hit my taste buds, I didn't think about anything else. Except for the brain freeze of course. Flavours can be a great way to experience mindfulness because we can slow down, think about the flavour experienced when the food first touches the tongue. Think about the sweetness, the creaminess and the richness. By focusing on all these sensations, you are being mindful. You are thinking of nothing else at that particular time.

Taste is a powerful sensation and is linked to smell. Many times we enjoy the smell of the food before we experience the taste. Take your time. Savour the smells, savour the flavour. Savour the moment you first experience the flavour.

This form of mindfulness will open you up to a deeper understanding of what mindfulness really is. You will then translate the mindfulness you experience with taste, over to the mindfulness you experience with the other senses.

That is the reason I separated mindfulness experiences for children into the categories of see, hear, smell, taste and touch in the book mentioned below. The book includes specific mindfulness activities you can do with your children. After doing the included exercises, you'll think of your own to do.

Making the decision to be truly mindful and focusing on taste when you eat is the first step to mindful eating. If you're anything like me, you'll begin to eat less and enjoy food more.

Quotes:

• Mindfulness of the body is the awareness of the taste and smell of this moment. - Steve Hagen
• Taste, smell and enjoy the present moment. - Bruce Langford
  

Books:

Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Lilian Cheung

Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink

Thank You Bonus:

Would you like to help your children become more mindful? Most children are naturally mindful already but they need to hear from adults that it's OK to live in the moment.  You will experience laughs, serious moments and enjoy new-found connections as you interact with your child using the innovative, yet simple techniques found in this book.
Download it for free right here:

21 Ways To Practice Mindfulness With Your Child Every Day For 7 Minutes by Bruce Langford

Susan Squire is a Joyologist. She constantly brings joy into her own life and the lives of others regardless of their circumstances. She shares simple tools which makes choosing joy more meaningful, feasible and fun. Susan is also a certified nutritional therapist and yoga teacher. She is on a journey

Read the rest of this entry »

Jennifer Gilchrist is a Speaker, Soul Success Mentor and for 17 years has been an entrepreneur; 6 years of that time working as a Spiritual Mentor. Jen has gone from being a Struggling Single Mom to a 6-figure Business Owner — making money doing what she loves and empowering others to do the same. Jen is the creator of the Blissful Bride Program and Enlightened Entrepreneur Program. She supports coaches, authors, messengers and speakers, so they can make a bigger impact in the the world. Jen is deeply inspired and passionate about empowering others to be leaders in their life and business.

Contact Info

• Website: www.EmpoweredWomansLeadership.com
  
• Free Gift: "The Blissful Living Package" Including: The 5 Essential Steps To Blissful Living and A 20 Minute Guided Version of the TLC Meditation and also How To Recognize the Signs of The Angels and The Universe EmpoweredWomansLeadership.com/free-gift
  
• Podcast:
• Facebook Group: Enlightened Entrepreneurs With Jennifer Gilchrist

Most Influential Person

• Carmen Figueras, Spiritual Mentor

Effect on Emotions

• I feel so much more energy, [am] so much more happy, I've released so much worry and stress that my whole life has just shifted one hundred and eighty degrees.

Thoughts on Breathing

• It's the quickest way to bring yourself back into the present moment and out of a worry cycle or a negative pattern of thinking.

Suggested Resources

• Book: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
• Book: The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer
• App: Stop, Breathe, Think

Advice for Newbie

Just keep at it, it's like a muscle that you build. I hear people say, "I could never do that, my mind's going a mile a minute." Trust me, mine was. But you can, so just even one or two minutes a day. Outdoors is a really easy way because nature is always very present. So if you just put your feet on the grass, set a timer for even a few minutes and allow yourself to breathe, you will be amazed how easy it begins to become for you and how much it will change your life.

Free Bonus

Download your five free guided meditations called Fine Tune Your Focus. Watch and listen, or close your eyes to listen. Enter your name and email. Click here: www.MindfulnessMode.com/focus

Also download your free gift from Jen, The Blissful Living Package: EmpoweredWomansLeadership.com/free-gift

Your Safe Place and Mindfulness are one in the same according to many people I’ve talked to. When I think of my safe place, I think back to when I was five years old and I was with my dad. He was repairing a fence and I was nearby, playing under my favourite tree. Suddenly I hollered. Something was not right.

Hundreds of ants had crawled under my pant legs, up my legs and toward my crotch and abdomen. It was a strange feeling. Quicker than I could imagine, my dad scooped me up, pulled off my pants and swept all the ants off me with his huge farmer hands.

I was safe. I was instantly protected by my dad from the hundreds of ants. I had no idea I had stepped on an ant hill, causing the ant to invade this foreign territory.

That moment of safety reminds me of the practice of mindfulness. You can always go to your safe place as long as you understand mindfulness and how to use the tools which work for you.

Enjoy your safe place and your moments of mindfulness.

Guest:

• Today I don’t have a guest. I will have a guest on future weekend episodes. Stay tuned.

Quotes:

• The best gift you can give is to be someone’s safe place. – unknown
• We all need a place that is safe and wholesome enough for us to return for refuge. In Buddhism, that refuge is mindfulness. Thich Nhat Hanh

Books:

• The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology by Jack Kornfield

Thank You Bonus:

Sign up for the free Relax and Breathe Summit

www.relaxandbreathesummit.com

Free Relaxation techniques you can do anywhere.

Join me and over 20 other experts, including event organizer, Pompe Strater-Vidal. She is a Transformational coach and Zen monk. You’ll become the person who will be the calm in the chaos.

Two 30-minute interviews per day, over a 12-day period starting July 11, 2016. Registration is free and available at this link: Relax And Breathe Summit

H Guthrie Chamberlain III helps you build your living legacy. He and his wife, Paula are specialists in entrepreneurship with exceptional wisdom and insight that enable their clients to successfully create and build their legacies. Their company Venture Consulting Group, Inc. helps businesses maximize profitability and cash flow with efficiency. Guthrie is also a strong, devoted Christian who teaches and shares through his podcast, Wisdom-Trek.

Contact Info

• Company: Venture Consulting Group, Inc.
  
• Website: www.wisdom-trek.com
  
• Podcast: Wisdom-Trek

Most Influential Person

• My dad

Effect on Emotions

• It allows me to step back and relax when, otherwise, I might be uptight. It also allows me to be able to look at life from a larger perspective. It helps me see what's most important in life and see through what struggles I might be going through on a particular moment on a particular day.

Thoughts on Breathing

• Breathing is a great thing to do when you are uptight or tense about something. Just step back, breath deeply, meditate a little bit, close your eyes and pause, just to give yourself a chance to reflect and refocus on what's really important.

Suggested Resources

• Book: The Psalms found in The Bible
• App: YouVersion Bible

Advice for Newbie

Just realize that life is a marathon, that we don't have accomplish everything we need to get done today, to look at life from a larger perspective and to step back at times to reflect, relax, keep the bigger picture in mind, so that each day, we can move forward, but not at a hectic pace where all we're doing is rushing from one thing to another without taking time to be mindful  and relax and enjoy life.

Katherine Di Lullo is a student of Yoga and Mindfulness. She completed her Yoga teacher training a year ago and it is her goal to combine the practices of yoga and mindfulness in her role as a social worker, creating a holistic approach to healing with her clients.

Contact Info

• Email: dilullokatherine@gmail.com
• Facebook: Katherine Anne

Most Influential Person

• Louise Hay

Effect on Emotions

• I think it really allows me to just stop before reacting. It allows me to just take a moment to pause and maybe ask myself, "Why is that bothering me right now?" It's really allowed me to stay calm in situations, especially with failures in life. It helps me to not react, but instead, look at those failures as creating new possibilities for myself.

Thoughts on Breathing

• Breathing is huge. When I connect with my breath, it just brings me to the present moment. It just reminds me how simple and beautiful breathing is. It doesn't need to be a complicated process. Breathing is life. It's just so simple to connect back to.

Suggested Resources

• Book: No book
• App: Oprah & Deepak’s 21-Day Meditation Experience

Advice for Newbie

Just as yoga is a practice, mindfulness is a practice as well. Just be generous with yourself and don't be hard on yourself if you did get distracted or your mind did wander. Just starting, maybe you just take three deep breaths every morning and that could lead to a bit of a longer meditation. Just allow yourself to explore the practice.

Thank You Bonus

Sign up for the free Relax and Breathe Summit

www.relaxandbreathesummit.com

Learn relaxation techniques that just take a few minutes and can be done anywhere.

Join me and over 20 other experts, including event organizer, Pompe Strater-Vidal. She is a Transformational coach and Zen monk. You'll become the person who will be the calm in the chaos.

Two 30-minute interviews per day, over a 12-day period starting July 11, 2016. Registration is free and available at this link: Relax And Breathe Summit

Back to Routine. Back to the habits we’ve created for ourselves. Last week we talked about Celebrations and Mindfulness because it was Canada Day and Independence Day, and perhaps a holiday for you if you’re in another country. We need to be able to bounce back to routine after a weekend or a week away. I’ve been at Podcast Movement this week, and I’m recording this episode ahead of time.

Notice how your body feels during times when you are in your routine. Does it feel comfortable? Does it help you relax to be in your routine? See if you can become totally tuned in to your body and mind so you can remember the feeling you enjoy during these times.

Also notice how you feel when you’re not in routine, like maybe times of celebration, thinking back to what we talked about on last weekend’s show. It can be a great feeling to just let go and do whatever you feel like doing at any moment. There are times for this. What does your body feel like when you’re experiencing this. When you’re devoid of routine.

Remember that you’ll appreciate the benefits of routine much more after periods of having no routine.

Jon Kabat-Zinn talks about this in his book, Wherever You Go, There You Are. In the chapter called ‘Not Practicing Is Practicing’, he says, “How does the lack of regular practice affect your anxiety about time and about achieving certain results? How does it affect your relationships? Where do some of your most mindless patterns come from? What triggers them? Are you ready to hold them in awareness as they grip you by the throat, whether your formal practice is strong this week or not? Can you see that not practicing is an arduous practice?”

Jon Kabat-Zinn asks questions that get me thinking, and the above questions are perfect examples.

I think we agree, we all need routine in our lives, we all need good, positive habits that keep us on track. But routine can have a negative connotation as well. Routine can suck the life blood out of you just because of the sameness. That’s why I believe in Mindfulness. Because we need to be aware of our routine, whether it’s helping us or not. Is it taking away life’s pleasures, or helping us by keeping our bodies and minds somewhat consistent?

See the quotes below by Paulo Qualo, Buddy Rich and Bruce Springstein. They are some quotes about the downside of routine. Not surprisingly, these quotes are by some pretty creative people.

Use routine and habit to your advantage. Be mindful of the advantages and disadvantages. Read Hal Elrod’s book, The Miracle Morning. He is incredibly pumped up about the value of having a morning routine … and I agree with him. It’s helped me immensely.

Thanks again for listening. Enjoy your weekend, enjoy your routine, and have some adventure too.

Bye now.

Guest:

• Today I don't have a guest. I mention authors Jon Kabat-Zinn and Hal Elrod. I would love to have both of these authors on my show some day.

Quotes:

• You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine. John C. Maxwell
• If we do not respect our earth, the world of emotions and mental development will suffer. We all need rhythm in our food consumption, sleep patterns, cleanliness and exercise regime. This routine does not come naturally and it is learned and exercised from very young age. - Nuit of Conscious Parenting
• Adventure is dangerous, try routine. It is lethal. Paulo Coelho
• So, to come in with a set routine it’s something I’ve never believed in. It should depend on how you feel, because you play what you feel. Buddy Rich
• For an adult, the world is constantly trying to clamp down on itself. Routine, responsibility, decay of institutions, corruption: this is all the world closing in. Bruce Springsteen

Books:

•  Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
•  Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

Thank You Bonus:

Sign up for the free Relax and Breathe Summit

www.relaxandbreathesummit.com

Free Relaxation techniques you can do anywhere.

Join me and over 20 other experts, including event organizer, Pompe Strater-Vidal. She is a Transformational coach and Zen monk. You'll become the person who will be the calm in the chaos.

Two 30-minute interviews per day, over a 12-day period starting July 11, 2016. Registration is free and available at this link: Relax And Breathe Summit

Katherine Di Lullo is a student of Yoga and Mindfulness. She completed her Yoga teacher training a year ago and it is her goal to combine the practices of yoga and mindfulness in her role as a social worker, creating a holistic approach to healing with her clients.

Contact Info

• Email: dilullokatherine@gmail.com
• Facebook: Katherine Anne

Most Influential Person

• Louise Hay

Effect on Emotions

• I think it really allows me to just stop before reacting. It allows me to just take a moment to pause and maybe ask myself, "Why is that bothering me right now?" It's really allowed me to stay calm in situations, especially with failures in life. It helps me to not react, but instead, look at those failures as creating new possibilities for myself.

Thoughts on Breathing

• Breathing is huge. When I connect with my breath, it just brings me to the present moment. It just reminds me how simple and beautiful breathing is. It doesn't need to be a complicated process. Breathing is life. It's just so simple to connect back to.

Suggested Resources

• Book: No book
• App: Oprah & Deepak’s 21-Day Meditation Experience

Advice for Newbie

Just as yoga is a practice, mindfulness is a practice as well. Just be generous with yourself and don't be hard on yourself if you did get distracted or your mind did wander. Just starting, maybe you just take three deep breaths every morning and that could lead to a bit of a longer meditation. Just allow yourself to explore the practice.

Thank You Bonus

Sign up for the free Relax and Breathe Summit

www.relaxandbreathesummit.com

Learn relaxation techniques that just take a few minutes and can be done anywhere.

Join me and over 20 other experts, including event organizer, Pompe Strater-Vidal. She is a Transformational coach and Zen monk. You'll become the person who will be the calm in the chaos.

Two 30-minute interviews per day, over a 12-day period starting July 11, 2016. Registration is free and available at this link: Relax And Breathe Summit

Dan LeFave is an author, speaker and coach. The father of 3 boys, Dan truly believes we are all responsible for raising our children with confidence and empowerment. Dan has managed multi-million dollar projects for the largest corporations in the telecom and commercial real estate industries, as well as growing a small business from hundreds of thousands in revenue to over a million in under 3 years. Inspired by these successes, he could see that the pattern underlying the success of entrepreneurs stemmed from their mindset and deep rooted mindfulness based concepts.

Contact Info

• Website: danlefave.com
• Free Gift: danlefave.com/productivity

Most Influential Person

• Napoleon Hill

Effect on Emotions

• Mindfulness has given me a lot of power and control.

Thoughts on Breathing

• I’m actually getting more into that, but I think breathing is essential. Deep breathing is especially important, because then, you can get yourself into a calm state.

Suggested Resources

• Book: The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy
• App: SuperBetter

Advice for Newbie

You should just start becoming more aware of your thoughts, your environment, and the things that you think about most.

Thank You Bonus

Sign up for the free Relax and Breathe Summit

www.relaxandbreathesummit.com

Learn relaxation techniques that just take a few minutes and can be done anywhere.

Join me and over 20 other experts, including event organizer, Pompe Strater-Vidal. She is a Transformational coach and Zen monk. You’ll become the person who will be the calm in the chaos.

Two 30-minute interviews per day, over a 12-day period starting July 11, 2016. Registration is free and available at this link: Relax And Breathe Summit

Celebrations make life fun. How can we practice mindfulness even during times of celebrating? It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and especially in the preparations leading up to the event.

Today is Canada Day, July 1, 2016. This is Canada's 149th birthday. I enjoy celebrating Canada Day with my family, and mindfulness makes it even better.

Recently, I interviewed Steven Shalowitz from Mindfulness Mode. He is a world traveler and a sincerely mindful person. He has a podcast called The One Way Ticket Show. Each guest is invited to choose a place they'd like to visit and never come back. It can be a real or imaginary place, a place back in history or forward in time. The One Way Ticket Show encourages you to be creative with your destination.

I decided I'd like to go back to Expo 67 in Montreal. That was the celebration of Canada's 100th birthday. I remember it as a most exciting time. The whole country was celebrating. For my one way ticket, I told Steven I'd like to be playing the piano (a grand piano of course) on the deck of a yacht docked in the harbor near Expo 67. I'd be playing the piano for an excited audience of people celebrating Canada's birthday.

Guest:

• Steven Shalowitz
• Not an actual guest today, but a virtual guest. He was my guest on Mindfulness Mode Episode 112 World Traveler Steven Shalowitz Uses Mindfulness To Embrace Cultural Differences
  

Quotes:

• “Life should be marked by growth and completed with a celebration, not survived through struggle and departed with a mourning.”
  ― Joseph Rain
  
• “Today was good.
  Today was fun.
  Tomorrow is another one.” ― Dr. Seuss

Five Ways To Stay Mindful:

Celebrations can be one of the trickiest times to maintain mindfulness.

I've put together Five Ways To Stay Mindful At Times of Celebrations:

1. Habits - Be aware of your good habits and maintain them the best you can while leading up to the celebration, during the celebration and during your post celebration time. Even if you need to reduce the amount of time or change the place of your habitual practice, maintaining some aspect of that practice can help you remain grounded.

2 Journaling - Keep a journal and jot down your thoughts. Take 5 minutes and record what you're thinking, what you're enjoying right now, how you're feeling. Think of it as a diary if you like. It can help you enjoy your experience and stay in the moment. Remember, life is a journey and it's great to enjoy every step of the way.

3. Photography - Taking pictures can help you enjoy the present moment even more. It can make you think, what am I enjoying visually right now? Don't become obsessed where you feel like you need to be constantly taking pictures, because this can have the opposite effect where you're actually not enjoying the moment because you are looking for that perfect shot.

4. Sharing - If you're with a partner or family member, enjoy the time you're spending together. If you're not with someone you know, you may want to share eye contact with a person in the crowd you feel a momentary connection with. Holding hands, touching a friend on the arm, or other types of contact you're comfortable with can be a mindful way of enjoying the moment.

5. Quiet Time - Take a few minutes out to slow down your thoughts. This may be meditation to you or it may not. Maybe it's prayer. Maybe it is simply taking some time to relax your thought process. Researchers have proven that quieting the mind is a valuable exercise. This is a valuable part of mindfulness.

Books:

• Montreal's Expo 67 by Bill Cotter

Thank You Bonus:

Sign up for the free Relax and Breathe Summit

www.relaxandbreathesummit.com

Free Relaxation techniques you can do anywhere.

Join me and over 20 other experts, including event organizer, Pompe Strater-Vidal. She is a Transformational coach and Zen monk. You'll become the person who will be the calm in the chaos.

Two 30-minute interviews per day, over a 12-day period starting July 11, 2016. Registration is free and available at this link: Relax And Breathe Summit