And now, “Janie Jones” by the Clash.

What is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction?

MBSR and the work of Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn is my new passion…here’s a little bit about it from the Mindful Living Programs website:

Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn developed the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Since its inception, MBSR has evolved into a common form of complementary medicine addressing a variety of health problems. The National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has provided a number of grants to research the efficacy of the MBSR program in promoting healing. Completed studies have found that pain-related drug utilization was decreased, and activity levels and feelings of self esteem increased, for a majority of participants. More information on these studies can be found on the University of Massachusetts Medical School website: Center for Mindfulness.

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Hedge Fund

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Living the Questions

My wonderful father passed away suddenly this spring, and I’m finding that this summer has been a time for me to question many things in my life. I discovered this poem this morning and wanted to save it.

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet, Letter Four (July 16, 1903)

My favorite hockey uniforms

The NHL brought in a mandatory new jersey for all teams for the 2007-2008 season. It has been interesting to see each of the teams’ new unis. I like them simple, and I almost always prefer the home darks. Here are my faves:

Anaheim Ducks. Almost all black. This is SO much better than those funky purple and teal uniforms. (Scott Niedermayer)

Dallas Stars. I like the simple DALLAS much better than the old ones with huge star. (Brenden Morrow)

New York Rangers. This uni is classic. I really like the tie at the neck. (Brandon Dubinsky)

Minnesota Wild (Petteri Nummelin)

Vancouver Canucks (Roberto Luongo)

Toronto Maple Leafs. Always one of my faves. (Tomas Kaberle)

And because I love them, the Nashville Predators. (Radulov, Arnott, Dumont)

In loving memory

Chelsey Marie, my buddy for 16 years. Love you always.

10 Pieces of Random of Info

This post was inspired by a MySpace “tagging” challenge from a couple of very cool family members, Bridgit and Mary Ann. They wrote 10 pieces of random info, facts or habits about themselves, and challenged each of us to do the same. Here’s mine:

1. I once ate deep fried shrimp heads at a sushi restaurant. And found them rather tasty. Mmm…salty n’ crispy.

2. When I worked for Lego, I was scheduled to fly to the Lego headquarters in Denmark on 9/12/ 2001. Decided against it.

3. Most of my ancestors were preachers, teachers, miners or moonshiners. But my 9th great-grandfather, Timen Stiddem, was the first doctor in Delaware.

4. I once won $100 on a scratch-off lottery ticket that my parents gave me as a gift.

5. When I was 17, I played guitar for a metal band called Sinister. We covered Metallica, AC/DC and Judas Priest. Our biggest gig was “Earl Ray’s Party.”

6. For more of my life, I despised raw tomatoes. Could even stand the smell. Now I love them.

7. I dressed as the Easter Bunny for a work event during the spring of 2006, thus fulfilling my dream to dress in a big mascot costume.

8. I love to listen to Buck Owens, Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. Yep.

9. My office is just around the corner from Al & Tipper Gore’s. I’ve never seen him there, but I did see him awkwardly rocking out at a Fountains of Wayne show once.

10. I’ve had my photo taken with the Stanley Cup twice, and I saw the original Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

How to be nice to yourself

I’m on a “be nice to myself” kick, and found some good, commonsense suggestions in this article from an interesting South African women’s site:
Self-love is the number one requirement to roll with life’s punches. It is the one skill that influences every aspect of your life, from the ability to get over a nasty comment on your new hairdo to being able let someone into your lane during peak traffic. Without it, you cannot live a generous life, and generosity of spirit is really what we need these days – not an Internet-connected refrigerator.

If you have lately found yourself unable to look at the way your partner mixes the rice and veggies on his plate before eating them or you want to pull faces at the girl sitting in front of you in the spinning class in a perfectly sporty outfit, you have probably been neglecting yourself. It’s really tough to be nice to others when you are not nice to yourself. The good news is that being nice to yourself is not that tricky. You don’t have to spend hours meditating or read countless self-help books. Self-love is not an ethereal quality that only the spiritually advanced can have. Instead, it lies in small acts like switching off your cell phone after a rough day at the office. It means being considerate towards yourself, giving yourself a break. Here are some suggestions on how you can do this.

Loosen up on the self-discipline

Don’t deprive yourself too much. Someone who always has salad when eating out and never eats chocolate while lying down lives a poor life and is bound to become frustrated. Stop obsessing about fat grams and kilojoules. If you look after your soul by having a cup of hot chocolate on a cold morning, eating healthily will follow naturally.

Also, don’t spend money only on necessities. No one except yourself has an obligation to spoil you. Go for the necessary pedicures, waxes and haircuts and colourings. Splurge on a luxury item once in a while, for example a cashmere sweater, silk underwear or sexy shoes.

Take care of your money matters

Before you think we advocate financial irresponsibility, know this: self-love also means taking your finances seriously. Plan for your future, see a financial adviser, read the business news and budget! This will leave you feeling more in control and will allow you to know just how much you can spoil yourself. It’s all about living a balanced life.

Make friends with yourself

You don’t choose your friends based on the width of their thighs, so why should you do the same to yourself? Acknowledge and praise yourself for your good qualities such as your killer smile, your excellent vocabulary or your loyalty. Stop beating yourself up for not having a flat stomach like Gisele. You will notice that as soon as you treat yourself gently, being nice to others will come easily.

Take some risks

If you don’t move, you become a statue. Life is about taking risks and making changes. Don’t do only the things that you are good at. Tackling new projects builds your self-esteem. Even if you are the worst student in the photography, French, yoga or computer graphics class, you will feel great when you master a new skill.

So go ahead and give yourself some tender loving care this week. You deserve it!

H. Perold

Sources:

Satran, P. Absolutely fabulous. Cosmopolitan (December) 2000, p.147

Cosmopolitan’s guide to coping with the millennium. 1999. Edited by V. Raphaely and H. Parker. Rivonia: Zebra Press

Relaxation is the Key to Happiness

Happiness – An instruction expressed spontaneously
By Lama Gendun Rinpoche

Happiness cannot be found
through great effort and willpower,
but is already here, right now,
in relaxation and letting go.

Don’t strain yourself, there is nothing to do.
Whatever arises in the mind
has no importance at all,
because it has no reality whatsoever.

Don’t become attached to it. Don’t pass judgment.
Let the game happen on its own,
emerging and falling back – without changing anything -
and all will vanish and begin anew, without end.

Only our searching for happiness prevents us from seeing it.
It is like a rainbow which you run after without ever catching it.
Although it does not exist, it has always been there
and accompanies you every instant.

Don’t believe in the reality of good and bad experiences;
they are like rainbows.

Wanting to grasp the ungraspable you exhaust yourself in vain.
As soon as you relax this grasping,
there is space – open, inviting and comfortable.
So make use of it. Everything is already yours.

Search no more,
Don’t go into the inextricable jungle
looking for the elephant who is already quietly at home.
Nothing to do,
nothing to force,
nothing to want
and everything happens by itself.

Centering Exercise

By Neil Fiore, PhD

Centering is a one-minute, twelve-breath exercise that transitions your mind from fretting about the past and future to being focused in the present — where your body must be. Centering in the present clears your mind of regrets about the past and worries about anticipated problems in the so-called future.

As you withdraw your thoughts from these imagined times and problems, you release yourself from guilt about the past and worry about the future. You experience a stress-free vacation in the present. Whenever you experience moments of the joyful abandon in play, the easy flow of creativity, or a state of concentration that leads to effortless optimal performance, you are practicing a form of “centering.” Use this exercise each time you start a project. Within just a week or two your body and mind will learn to naturally let go of tension and focus on working efficiently and optimally.

Read the following to yourself or tape record it and play it each time you start a project.

1. Begin by taking three slow breaths, in three parts: #1 Inhale, #2 Hold your breath and muscle tension, and, #3 Exhale slowly, floating down into the chair. With each exhalation — let go of the last telephone call or commute and float down into the chair. With your next exhalation, let the chair hold you and let go of any unnecessary muscle tension. Let go of all thoughts and images about work from the past. Clear your mind and your body of all concerns about what “should have” or “shouldn’t have” happened in the past. Let go of old burdens. Let go of trying to fix your old problems. Take a vacation from trying to fix other people. Let each exhalation become a signal to just let go of the past.

Say to yourself as you exhale: “I release my mind and body from the past.”

2. With your next three breaths, let go of all images and thoughts about what you think may happen in the future — all the “what ifs.” With each exhalation, clear your muscles, your heart, and your mind of the work of trying to control the so-called future.

Say to yourself as you exhale: “I release my mind and body from the future.”

3. With your next three breaths, say: “I’m choosing to be in this present moment, in front of this work.” I let go of trying to control any other time or striving to be any particular way. I notice how little effort it takes to simply breath comfortably and accept the just right level of energy to focus on this moment and this task — in the only moment there is, now.

Say to yourself as you exhale: “I bring my mind into the present.”

4. For the next few minutes, there is nothing much for my conscious mind to worry about within this sanctuary. You are safe from the past and the future. I just allow the natural processes of my mind and body to provide me with focused concentration. I access my inner genius and its creative resources.

Say to yourself as you exhale: “I am centered within my larger, wiser, stronger Self.”

5. With your next three breaths count up from 1 to 3: One, becoming more adequately alert with each breath; Two, curious and interested about going rapidly from not-knowing to knowing; and, Three, eager to begin, curious and interested about how much I will accomplish in such a short period of time.