I was reminiscing recently about our December conference in Hilton Head. We don’t host it anymore, but one moment made a lasting impact on me, and certainly touched many of the practitioners attending, too. It’s a song called If I Were Brave, by Jana Stanfield. Jana, a talented singer/songwriter, performed this inspiring song at a couple of our conferences. It asks each of us what we would do today if we had the courage to do it. Take a moment to listen – I think you’ll like some of the real-life bravery “stories” in this video. When I hear Jana’s…

This time of year, I’m inclined to look back on days past – the successes and failures, the joys and sorrows great and small. And with life’s shifting circumstances, I try to remind myself to focus on what matters. For me, spirituality is a guiding principle. I know it is for many of us. During the summer, we put together this short video with words from our wisest teachers. I think you’ll find it moving. I know I do. Click here to sign up. If you’d like to hear more, take a look at our Holiday Special – it’s the…

When I think of mindfulness, what often comes to mind is my early morning sitting practice . . . both the struggles and the benefits. My Droid smartphone and my laptop aren’t anywhere in the picture. And yet, perhaps they should be. Technology has given us computer programs and apps for just about everything, so it stands to reason that there would be something helpful for stress reduction and mindfulness, too. I decided to investigate. Here is some interesting mindfulness-based technology that I found (and no, I’m not getting any kind of commission from mentioning these): • Chronicle Books’ The…

We know meditation can change the brain, but can just one month of meditation really make a difference? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. Yi-Yuan Tang, PhD and his research team from Texas Tech University looked at the impact that short-term meditation has on the brain’s white matter. White matter is fatty tissue that covers brain axons and helps neurons communicate with one another. The better our neurons communicate, the better our brain functions. Researchers randomly assigned college undergraduates to one of two groups: an integrative mind-body training group, and a relaxation group. Brain scans were taken before and after the…

Has your soul ever felt heavy, lazy, or a little out of shape? Like your body, your soul needs a workout sometimes. When our lives are comfortable, we might not reflect as much. We start to go through our days on auto-pilot. We might stop learning and changing. But when our lives become a little more challenging, sometimes our souls start to wake up. In this video, Thomas Moore, PhD explains how difficult circumstances can potentially recharge our souls. It’s only 3 minutes long, so I don’t want you to miss it. Thomas Moore’s full webinar is a special bonus…

Can you be so happy you forget to die? Bernie Siegel, MD might not go that far. But then again, he’s seen a lot of patients, and he knows how powerful it can be to love your life. So he just might. A recent study led by Michael Sadler at Roosevelt University looked at the happiness levels of 674 pairs of elderly twins, followed for a median period of 9 years. Sadler and his team found a significant link between self-reported well-being and longevity. They measured well-being by asking, “Are you happy and satisfied with your life at present?” On…