Attend to Love

This year, I am attending to various aspects of my life. This month, as it is February, I wanted to attend to Love. I know love has almost become a cliche word, but its root is desire and care from the Indo-european root lib or lub. In our modern parlance, it may mean acceptance, caring,...

Valentine’s countdown

I love advents and countdowns, as you may have seen (here, here, here, and here). They are like little daily gifts and surprises. So a happy stitch's lovely valentine's day countdown was just the thing to bring some LOVE into this month for the world. It's a simple idea: put slips of paper in paper...

Mindful Moment 156 – Listen

The sounds around us serve as an anchor, but instead of trying to figure out what they are, we can rest in just hearing, listening, and allowing ourselves to return to the sense of sound. Also listen to previous sound/listening recordings here and here.

Mindful Shining Star

This lovely game was taught to me in my training with Mindful Schools - a non-threatening version of a traditional game played where you guess the word that is appropriate for these modern days. The game is simple: one person thinks of a word (in this case, mindfulness-related) and the other(s) guess the letters in...

Mindful Eating Jar

Gather family or friends and practice some mindful eating exercises with this Mindful Eating Jar printable - print, cut apart, and put into a box, jar, bowl, bottle. Take turns pulling a slip out of the jar and try the activity. Mindful eating is a delicious way to bring mindfulness into something you are likely...

More Mindfulness Jar ideas

Here are even more ideas for your "mindfulness jar." Print and cut apart, then put them in a jar or bottle or bowl - pick out one a day in class, or use for your own practice. This includes two pages for double the ideas. Check out the previous mindfulness jar ideas here and also...

Mindfulness Jar 2

Here is a second mindfulness jar to bring yourself to the present moment - cut these out and put them in a jar or bowl, then pull them out (or use as is, or cut the strips apart to pull off!). The previous Mindfulness Jar is here.

Giveaway – 3 free subscriptions

I have the joy of receiving 3 free subscriptions to give away for "Simple and Straightforward" - which has been a lovely newsletter about minimalism, simplicity, planet and more. If you'd like one of them, please leave a comment below!

Cultivating Gratitude

This month I chose the theme of "Cultivating Gratitude" for this month of September, checking in with my sense of gratitude, more than simply just being grateful. It's the second time I'm doing this: https://okachiko.wordpress.com/2021/12/01/cultivating-gratitude/ I love this quote here from Insight Meditation Center: Gratitude, in turn, can help people relax and trust, qualities that...

Mental noting

When meditating, you can use "mental noting" to note what is happening in your mind. With practice, noting what is going on helps you be present, staying with what is happening with you, and connecting to your body. You can note Breath (I am breathing, my breath is shallow or deep or fast or slow,...