Focus on the bright spots – Create a photo or word collage that you can look at everyday in a prominent location and remind yourself what you are grateful for in your life.
What makes you happy? Do you know? Make a top 10 list.
Dream board – what are you looking to add in your life? Make a bulletin board with photos or words or magazine pictures that you can change as often as you like.
SOJS Journal – create an (aspiring to be) Joy Spreader gratitude journal. Try to write as often as you can 3 things you are grateful for in your day.
Set goals – Create your own GPS. Where do you want to go with your next 2 years? 5? 10? 20? You have to have a destination in order to get THERE. Think about your health, love, family, adventures, career.
Take stock
Self talk– NPR: Why saying is believing – The science of self talk
Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative. Learn to recognize and minimize all the negatives in your life. Create more room to focus on the good stuff like laughter: Laughter is the best medicine
Learn to meditate – UCLA: Free Guided Meditations
Create your own board of directors – Who are your greatest cheerleaders in your life? Make a list. Spend as much time as you can with these people. If you don’t have enough of them join meetup.com. Having more social connections is the number one thing you can do to increase your enjoyment of life.
| Apps | Description |
|---|---|
| Stop, Breathe & Think | Also available online! Guided Meditations tailored to your current mood and feelings. |
| Insight Timer | Over 3,000 free guided meditations. Also offering meditation music and podcasts. Join the Beaumont Group “Beaumont Employee Wellness Group” – A local community of mindfulness. |
| Books | Description |
| Full Catastrophe Living by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn | A manual for helping you to develop your own personal meditation practice and for learning how to use mindfulness to promote improved health and healing in your own life. |
| Heal Thyself by Dr. Saki Santorelli | Explores the ancient roots of medicine, and shows us how to introduce mindfulness into the crucible of the healing relationship. His approach revolutionizes the dynamics between the patient and the practitioner. |
| A Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Workbook by Dr. Bob Stahl and Dr. Elisha Goldstein | In just weeks, you can learn mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a clinically proven program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. MBSR is effective in alleviating stress, anxiety, panic, depression, chronic pain, and a wide range of medical conditions. |
| 10% Happier by Dan Harris | Nightline anchor Dan Harris embarks on an unexpected, hilarious, and deeply skeptical odyssey through the strange worlds of spirituality and self-help, and discovers a way to get happier that is truly achievable. |
| Mindful Work by David Gelles | Explains how all sorts of businesses and any kind of worker can benefit from meditation, yoga, and other mindful techniques. |
| Finding the Space to Lead by Janice Marturano | Explains how Mindful Leadership training integrates the practice of mindfulness–meditation and self- awareness–with the practical tools of management, enabling leaders to bring a wider range of their capacities to the challenges at hand. |
| Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Dr. Kristen Neff | Exercises and action plans for dealing with every emotionally debilitating struggle, be it parenting, weight loss, or any of the numerous trials of everyday living. |
| Websites | Description |
| www.umassmed.edu/cfm | Mindfulness courses, research, education, and community from the founding institution of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness. |
| www.mindful.org | Personal stories, news-you-can-use, practical advice, and insights that speak to anyone from novice meditators looking for guidance to corporate managers exploring new ways to cultivate workplace engagement and fulfillment. Also a monthly magazine! |
| www.marc.ucla.edu | Mindful Awareness Research Center. Free Guided Meditations. |
| www.CenterforMSC.org | Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. Learn, practice and experience Mindful Self-Compassion. Self-compassion is a practice of goodwill, not good feelings. |
| www.investigatinghealthyminds.org | University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for Healthy Minds. Research, and news for adults and children. |
| www.doyogawithme.com | Free online resource for yoga videos. All levels of yoga offered. |
| Documentaries/Short Films | Description |
| The Connection | Looks at the mind-body connection. The film shows that we can counter the harmful effects of stress with an equally powerful relaxation response triggered through specific techniques such as meditation. First 15 minutes free at: https://theconnection.tv/ |
| Room to Breathe | A surprising story of transformation as struggling kids in a San Francisco public middle school are introduced to the practice of mindfulness meditation. http://www.roomtobreathefilm.com/ |
| Healthy Habits of Mind | Focuses on the value of mindfulness in the education system. Learn about the neuroscience, and watch the beauty of children practicing mindful breathing, listening, eating, movement, and heartfulness. Free Watch on YouTube |
| Just Breathe | Kindergarteners talk about coping with emotions and using meditation and breathing techniques. Free Watch on YouTube |
Mindfulness Resources compiled by Lucy Sternburgh, Beaumont Health