A Mindful View of Overcoming Holiday Blues
2 Comments by Ozzie Gontang / December 11, 2008 / Posted in MindfulnessThe holidays are a time of festivity and joy for many. But for some it’s the most stressful time of year. The joy for some (holiday decorating, cards to write, gifts to get, vacation arrangements, family gatherings with in-laws) can produce resentment and anxiety in others. This anxiety can be compounded by confrontations with [...]
It All Starts With Breath! Mindful Breath.
6 Comments by Ozzie Gontang / August 24, 2008 / Posted in BreatheOver the past 14 or 15 years and into the present, when I lead or facilitate support groups I begin with focus on one’s breath. From my early readings of Thich Nhat Hanh and practice of observing breath, I got a glimpse of: Present Moment, Beautiful Moment. Only a glimpse here [...]
Two Articles That Look At Meditation To Deal With Chronic Pain
3 Comments by Ozzie Gontang / August 24, 2008 / Posted in MindfulnessDr. Robert Bonakdar, MD is the director of pain management at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine (SCIM) in San Diego. He has been a long time friend and associate at SCIM. He has been a champion of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Here are two articles in which he along with others look at [...]
Finding Our Own Paths: Entering Awareness
3 Comments by Ozzie Gontang / June 4, 2008 / Posted in MindfulnessThe following reflection was posted on the Daily Om, which I have subscribed to for several years. A wonderful way to start the day mindfully. They have a marvelous archive and a wonderful community who share their thoughts, reflections, and insights.
Entering into our own spirituality is a private journey. Each of us will be drawn [...]
A Reminder of Living The Five Precepts of Service
0 Comment by Ozzie Gontang / May 25, 2008 / Posted in MindfulnessA dear friend and one of the people I champion as she has been a hero to me and to many whose lives she has touched…and at times saved. She shared a piece of the journey that is now part of her odyssey. For me the odyssey conveys that what I knew in the [...]
We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For
2 Comments by Ozzie Gontang / May 25, 2008 / Posted in Meditation, MindfulnessThanks to friends like Dorothy Mitchell I am continually reminded about being mindful and staying in the present moment.
Each of us carries that child within us that pulls at our shirt sleeve or tugs at our pant leg letting us know that they are there and if we don’t listen well, it is so [...]
Coming To Our Senses
0 Comment by Ozzie Gontang / April 30, 2008 / Posted in MindfulnessJon Kabat-Zinn’s book Coming to Our Senses and the CD set of Jon reading an abridged version of Coming To Our Senses is a wonderful unfolding of Mindfulness. The talk by Jon speaking at Google is a good presentation for anyone to learn more about Mindfulness.
On a book tour for Coming To [...]
Mitakuye Oyasin (We are all brothers) The Story of the Turtle Tribe
4 Comments by Ozzie Gontang / April 20, 2008 / Posted in MindfulnessEllen Langer in her book Mindfulness says:
Mindfulness is creation of new categories,
openness to new information
and awareness of more than one perspective.
With that in mind, sometimes that openness is to new information that is old information that we forgot we knew in our search for new information.
This is shared from dear friend and [...]
Mindfulness In The Classroom Workshop -May 2 & 3: Oakland, CA
0 Comment by Ozzie Gontang / April 13, 2008 / Posted in Mindfulness, UncategorizedSome of you who are teaching Mindfulness in grade schools might be interested in the workshop that is being done at Park Day School in Oakland.
The workshop, Mindfulness In The Classroom, is for teachers or those involved with grades K-12. The program teaches the practice of mindfulness and a sample curriculum for a mindfulness [...]
Video on Om Mantra & Gif on Contemplative Practices
1 Comment by Ozzie Gontang / April 5, 2008 / Posted in MeditationFound this an interesting overview on the Om Mantra in meditation in the Mandukya Upanishad on YouTube
Also an interesting Tree of Contemplative Practices you can download for free from the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society.
