Mindful October 2014 Sampler

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DIGITAL SAMPLER

View selected pages from Mindful’s October 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org


contents

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Features 34 Building Mindful Brands Innovation has become the watchword for success in today’s economy and two young, dynamic Americans are helping to reimagine commerce. Mindful interviews Danae Ringelmann of Indiegogo and Matthew Stinchcomb of Etsy to find out who they are and why they believe mindfulness is a key element in their business models.

“What we’re unleashing is vulnerability—allowing people across the world to connect and make things happen together.” –Danae Ringelmann, co-founder of Indiegogo Fourth installment of our Getting Started series

44 Fitting Meditation into Your Life We lead really busy lives and it can be difficult to find time to fit in our practice. Here are suggestions about how to find a good instructor, choose a meditation program, share in community practice, and find ways to incorporate meditation into your day-to-day life.

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Sidebar: The Meditation Diet p 50

52 The Doctor is Not Well Disillusioned and disengaged, doctors today are more likely to commit errors and leave the profession. They suffer high rates of depression, substance abuse, and suicide. Their patients suffer a poorer quality of health care too. Mona Gable explores why doctors are so unhappy and what some of them are trying to do about it.

60 Open Up The busier you are, the more you have to step away from busy-ness, to see what’s truly important in life. It’s the open spaces—the moments when you lose yourself says Pico Iyer—that help you to find contentment, joy, and peace of mind.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOSHUA SIMPSON (TOP), NIRAV PATEL (BOTTOM), BÉATRICE PELTRE (OPPOSITE PAGE). ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW BANNECKER.

Sidebar: 6 Things Every Woman in Business Needs to Know to Succeed—by Danae Ringelmann p 37


Departments 4 Your Thoughts

24 In My Body

80 MindSpace

Readers write, tweet, post.

Falling to Earth Skydiver Nikita Prokhorov reveals what it’s like to stand on the strut of a small plane 12,000 feet above the earth—then jump!

Artist Maira Kalman laments the fact that her ice cream craving could be interrupted by her prefrontal cortex.

6 Our Thoughts Our editor-in-chief has lunch with food activist Michael Pollan and discusses real food and mindful eating.

9 Now News from education, technology, the arts, neuroscience, and psychology, including a roundup of current research.

20 Bookmark This Writings, recordings, and apps that are capturing our attention.

22 Mindful-Mindless Some people think big and make a difference while others can’t even take the right measurements. Our take on who’s paying attention and who’s not.

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26 Mind Science Power Boost Your Aging Brain Brain functions peak at age 30 and go down hill from there. Thankfully scientists are pursuing preventative research and Sharon Begley says what they’re finding out about meditation and cognitive abilities is very promising.

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30 Mindful Eating Enjoy Versatile, Healthy Eggplant Resident foodie and mindful eating advocate, Béatrice Peltre thinks the regal eggplant is the perfect foundation for Mediterranean cuisine.

65 In Practice 66 Techniques Looking in the Mirror with Kindness Five steps to a better relationship with yourself. 67 At Work Engage Uncertainty; Concentrate on Quality Michael Carroll and Jae Ellard mindfully answer your workplace questions. 68 Ms. Mindful on Relationships Don’t Squabble Over Small Stuff Sparks should come from connecting bodies, not clashing egos, so make love not war.

70 Insight

The Scary, Winding Road Through Change Jeremy Hunter provides a compass to navigate the difficult path from a zombie zone to a new groove.

On our cover Executive director of the New York Insight Meditation Center, Sebene Selassie, talks about how being part of a meditation group can enrich your life as well as your practice. page 49 Photograph by Joshua Simpson. Makeup and hair by Jackie Sanchez/ Black Opal/Mizani.

October 2014 mindful 3


your thoughts

Trying hard not to try hard is a little tricky—remember to just let go.

you wrote in Thank you for mentioning the Berger brothers’ Zen Driving (“Driving to Distraction,” August 2014). What a treasure for drivers! Personally, I found one of their most true observations is: On the road, “there is no territory to defend.” Bonnie Greer Cornwallville, New York

Thanks for sharing the “RAIN” practice (“Finding Inner Peace Through Self-Acceptance,” August 2014). Anything that allows us a second for perspective rather than just flying off the handle is handy in a stressful situation. Ignacio Sanabria Seattle, Washington

Q: How do you avoid turning mindfulness meditation into just another self-improvement project? JENNIFER HORTON

What a great read (“The Art of Conversation,” August 2014). I could not agree more with the idea that we need to reconnect with the larger idea of what conversations really are—relational, not just transactional. Lauren Bigelow Menlo Park, California

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

A: At the heart of the “meditation project” lies a paradox: You wouldn’t be doing it in the first place if you weren’t motivated— if you didn’t think some benefit would accrue—and yet if you focus on benefit, the very benefit you seek eludes you. The trick, if you can call it that, seems to be when you notice the striving for self-improvement, when trying is overtaking just being there, let go. And that process will happen again and again and again. And, oh yeah, give some thought to benefitting everyone, not just yourself.

connect To learn about future issues and upcoming events, sign up for our email newsletters at mindful.org. To share your feedback on this or other issues, email us with your full name, city, and state or province at mindful@ mindful.org. You can also visit facebook.com/ mindfulorg or tweet us @MindfulOnline. For subscription questions, email subscriptions@mindful.org. Letters chosen for publication may be edited for length and clarity. All submissions and manuscripts become the property of The Foundation for a Mindful Society.

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The run-of-the-mill images used to illustrate mindfulness often disappoint me, and mindful.org used one the other day with an online story about the new mindfulness group in UK Parliament. A woman was sitting blissfully in the street while people whizzed by. We need to get the message across that mindfulness is an ordinary, everyday activity that can be done by people who are not particularly bendy or beautiful. As a mindfulness teacher, I also worry about the notion of thrusting mindfulness in people’s faces. I like Jon Kabat-Zinn’s saying, “If you ever feel tempted to tell someone you meditate—go away and meditate some more until the feeling passes.” Jeannie Mackenzie Renfrewshire, England

you answered How does mindfulness help “free” you from responding the same way to the same old emotional triggers? I’ve learned to stop and feel the emotions in my body before reacting, and bring my attention to my breath. That helps me get out of my head and ground myself. Jennifer Nuwer Depew, New York

Mindfulness helps me “decatastrophize” so I can help where I can, when I can. In order to be my best self— mother, wife, friend, etc.—I need to be awake and aware. And worry a bit less! Sonja Brown Parkin Queen Creek, Arizona

Mindfulness opens up a gap where we can choose how to respond—incredibly important for unlocking creativity. Anton Dahlgren Skellefteå, Sweden

Mindfulness allows me to experience emotion and make choices. By allowing emotions to happen, I can validate my experience non-judgmentally and that takes some of the punch out of the emotion. I am a counselor and I see this so often. When the nervous system is highly activated, our frontal cortex can’t be as engaged. With mindfulness, focusing on allowing instead of resisting or judging can reduce nervous system activation, as can focusing on the breath, so the “choice maker” can be back online! Angel K. Jernigan Birmingham, Alabama

VOLUME TWO, NUMBER 4, Mindful (ISSN 2169-5733, USPS 010-500) is published bimonthly for $29.95 per year USA, $39.95 Canada & $49.95 (US) international, by The Foundation for a Mindful Society, 1776 I St, NW, #90046, Washington, DC 20006 USA. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mindful, PO Box 469018, Escondido, CA 92046. Canada Post Publication Mail Agreement #42704514. CANADIAN POSTMASTER: Send undeliverable copies to Mindful, 1660 Hollis St, Suite 701, Halifax, NS B3J 1V7 CANADA. Printed in U.S.A. © 2014 Foundation for a Mindful Society. All rights reserved.

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our thoughts

Carsten Knox Associate Editor

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Beth Wallace Business Development Melvin McLeod Editorial Director Daniel Scott Publishing Office Associate

Lunch with Michael Pollan

as

eith

FL fulwas ry

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARVIN MOORE

d ime tion

In a long career, our backpage artist Maira Kalman has depicted everything from American history to the problem of uncertainty to New York City from above—not to mention chronicling her journey into mindfulness here in Mindful. Among her work is a fanciful illustrated edition of Michael Pollan’s Food Rules, so Maira kindly gave me an introduction to Pollan and on a recent trip to San Francisco, I enjoyed a lunch with him. Well-known for books advocating a different way of eating, in his latest, Cooked, he tells the story of his decision to take a greater interest in preparing food. Big surprise: He fell in love with the magical, alchemical process of transforming ingredients into meals. Pollan’s favorite thing to eat seems to be salad, which is not so much cooked as gathered and arranged. When you unpack his now famous cardinal rule from In Defense of Food, “eat food, not too much, mostly plants,” you find it has many corollaries, including that food means whole food, not “edible food-like substances” (a Twinkie for example) and that when he says “mostly plants,” he likes to add “especially

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leaves.” We ate at his friend Alice Waters’ Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse, and his meal consisted of two salads. They were hearty and colorful and locally grown. Waters and he are compatriots in trying to elevate the American way of eating. Over the last few decades we’ve been eating more while the quality of our food has been going down. We’ve gone from 15,000 bar codes in our food stores to 600,000, and most of that is “edible food-like substances” loaded with sugar, fat, and salt. Waters is approaching the problem through her Edible Schoolyard project, which aims to teach children about good food and how to grow and prepare it from a young age. Over lunch, Pollan mused about food and mindfulness. It’s not so much that you need extra mindfulness to appreciate real food. It’s that an encounter with real food—the taste of it, the look of it, the growing, the preparation, the sharing with others, the total feast of the senses—is inherently mindful. ●

—Barry Boyce, Editor-in-Chief barry@mindful.org

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Board of Advisors Susan Bauer-Wu, Ph.D., R.N., University of Virginia Jeffrey Brantley, M.D., Duke Integrative Medicine Mirabai Bush, Center for Contemplative Mind in Society Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D., Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison Rich Fernandez, Ph.D., Founder, Wisdom Labs Soren Gordhamer, Wisdom 2.0 Patricia Jennings, Ph.D., University of Virginia Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society Tim Ryan, United States Congress, Ohio, 13th District Diana Winston, Mindful Awareness Research Center, UCLA Organizations included for identification purposes only.

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October 2014 mindful 7


now

“ . . . It reveals that it is about light and shadow, reflected light, projected light, and change.” Phillip K. Smith on his art installation Lucid Stead, Joshua Tree, California.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN KING PHOTOGRAPHY, COURTESY OF ROYALE PROJECTS: CONTEMPORARY ART ROYALEPROJECTS.COM

News and Reviews from the Mindful World


Far left: Linda Lantieri. Above: Peace corner in a second grade classroom in East Harlem. Left: Lynne HurdlePrice, staff developer for The Inner Resilience Program, teaching 8-year old Nai’im how to meditate.

MINDFUL PROFILE

From the Inside Out: Helping Teachers and Students Nurture Resilience

Linda Lantieri talks about cultivating emotional intelligence in children at mindful. org/lantieri

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Linda Lantieri began teaching in 1968 at Public School 171 in East Harlem. “I was responsible for their minds, hearts and souls—37 kids in my classroom,” she recalls. “There was a presidential election on at the time and I didn’t want the kids asking me who I’d vote for. I was too young to vote!” The job was difficult and stressful, so from her mid-20s, meditation became a nonnegotiable part of Lantieri’s life. Her practice helped her so much that she started to think about how she might integrate mindfulness in her profession. “I wanted to bring it into a public school environment, but I didn’t really expect it would have a place. We weren’t as open as we are now.” Lantieri became an Assistant Principal at her school and took positions with the New York City Board of Education. In the mid-1980s,

she co-founded a learning initiative: the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program. The program was developed to help create nurturing communities of learning that improve academic success while preventing violence in schools. The program was embraced around the country and is now the largest and longest running school program in the U.S. “Coming of age in the late 60s made most of us who were caring individuals want to be in a place where we felt we could make a difference,” says Lantieri, who was part of the group of visionary educators who created alternative charter schools with specialized curriculums in poverty-stricken districts. Their efforts were detailed in Seymour Fliegel’s book Miracle in East Harlem. “I feel that education is one of the last places we can make quite a difference in young people’s

lives and the future of what happens in the world.” That need to make a difference really came to the fore after 9/11. On that sunny Tuesday morning in September 2001, 200 teachers and administrators from 11 schools in the shadows of the World Trade Center shepherded their students away from Lower Manhattan—8,000 kids were delivered to safety.

Dealing with the Aftermath of 9/11 In the weeks and months that followed the fall of the twin towers, as the children and their teachers returned to school, Lantieri visited them. She saw how educators were struggling to keep the horror of that day from permanently damaging the kids. The anxiety in the teachers was also plain to see. The wounds were fresh.

PHOTOGRAPHS: PORTRAIT OF LINDA LANTIERI BY IGNACIO GIL, INNER RESILIENCE PROGRAM IMAGES BY CAROLINA KROON

PHOTOGRAPHS: PORTRAIT OF LINDA LANTIERI BY IGNACIO GIL, INNER RESILIENCE PROGRAM IMAGES BY CAROLINA KROON

now

Read the rest of this article in Mindful’s October 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org


in my body

Falling to Earth Jumping from the strut of a small plane at 12,000 feet above ground requires you to be completely focused. It packs a huge fix of excitement and gives you a feeling of utter freedom. By Nikita Prokhorov Photograph by Joshua Simpson

Name: Age: Activity: Profession: Location:

Nikita Prokhorov 34 Skydiving Designer New York City

Read the rest of this article in Mindful’s October 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org


mind science

Power Boost Your Aging Brain Sadly brain functions peak at age 30 and go downhill from there. Thankfully, scientists are now researching the effectiveness of braintraining on the aging brain. Sharon Begley says what they’re finding out about meditation and cognitive abilities is very promising.

Sharon Begley is the senior health and science correspondent at Reuters, author of Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, and coauthor with Richard Davidson of The Emotional Life of Your Brain.

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When talk turns to trying to attack the decline in mental capacity that comes with age, we hear a lot about crossword puzzles and braintraining. And common sense might suggest that brain calisthenics would be the most effective way to rage, rage against the dying of the mental light. That’s certainly what the purveyors of braintraining programs claim. But evidence

suggests that directly attacking our cognitive deficits may be less effective than using indirect approaches—such as exercise and meditation and working on deep-seated mental processes—to rejuvenate the mind. Even for those who don’t contract a disease such as Alzheimer’s, the years take a toll on the brain. Processing speed slows down. Signals reaching cortical areas from the senses become less sharp, more muddled. Production of neurochemicals such as serotonin and dopamine drops. Inflammation—the same process as in hardening of the arteries—also seems to age the brain. As a result, we get worse and worse at multitasking, switching attention, and

remembering why the heck we just walked into a room. Scientists haven’t been waiting for the final word on the physiological underpinnings of brain aging before trying to devise ways to combat it. And while there have been some misses, there have been enough hits to give hope to everyone over 30— the age by which many brain functions peak. First, aerobic activity. About a decade ago, psychologists led by Art Kramer of the University of Illinois discovered that, in older adults, taking three vigorous, 40-minute walks per week over six months improved the ability to control attention and inhibit distracting information, among other →

Illustration by Gavin Potenza


There are many varieties of eggplant available, ranging in color from deep purple to white, and most do not require salting and rinsing. A 1 ½ lb. eggplant contains 100 calories and is: • low in saturated fat and cholesterol • high in dietary fiber, potassium, vitamin B1 and vitamin B6 • rich in antioxidants Source: whfoods.com

Recipes and photographs by Béatrice Peltre. Find more of her work at latartinegourmande.com


mindful eating

Enjoy Versatile, Healthy Eggplant Resident foodie and mindful eating advocate, Béatrice Peltre thinks the regal eggplant is the perfect foundation for Mediterranean cuisine. Eggplant season runs from July to October, so I wanted to make sure I feature them in my column before the harvest season ends. Eggplants should be available at your local farmers’ market now. I use the variety widely available in my area—the large, purple, oval Italian eggplants—I think they are they are the most common in North America. These eggplants should have deep purple, unblemished skins but not be too polished. I like to buy organic—and I’m a bit suspicious when they're really big—often they have less flavor. Choose only those with green unwithered tops, as this is an indicator of freshness. Of course in France, we call them aubergines. I recently discovered that in Turkey, they are considered the king of vegetables. And although many people are aware that they are members of the nightshade family (that includes peppers

and tomatoes), I find it helpful to know that they are not actually a vegetable but a fruit, specifically a berry. Knowing this helps me to remember that eggplants need to be handled like fragile berries— they bruise easily and last only a few days in the fridge. So handle them with loving care and cook them while they’re fresh. Eggplant has a subtle, yet distinctive flavor and texture. It’s a combination of smooth, creamy, fleshy and a little smoky. It’s these elements that make it the perfect ingredient for so many delicious Mediterranean dishes such as Eggplant Parmegiana (from Italy), or Moussaka (from Greece), or one of my all-time favorites using roasted eggplants, Baba Ganoush (from the Middle East). I’m passing along my best recipe for this classic dish with a wonderful, garlicky flavor. This dish seems harder than it really is, only because it requires a little time in the kitchen. I like to dress it up with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds but you can also use chopped fresh cilantro. I usually serve it with fresh pita bread but you can also serve it with pita chips. These are easy to make. Use a pizza cutter to cut fresh pita breads—try a stack of four at a time—cutting them

into sixteenths. Place the pieces on a baking sheet. In a bowl, mix together about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch each of salt, pepper, and hot, smoky paprika. Then, dip a pastry brush in the oil mixture and brush it lightly over the fresh pita. Place in a 375˚ oven for about five to eight minutes or until golden. The chips are light and flaky. The other dish I want to share with you is a true family favorite: Stuffed Eggplants. This dish targets most of the senses—the colors of the finished dish are gorgeous, the smell is divine, and the flavors are incredible. It’s tomato-creamy, yet nutty with the addition of walnuts and brown rice, the aromatic herb blend is amazing, and it’s totally enhanced by the topping of salty, melted feta. All you need to add is a side salad and you have a healthy and delicious meal to warm up a cool fall night. As I always say, food is love, and here is my latest offering. I hope you enjoy it. A votre santé et bon appétit! ●

Recipes, food styling, photographs, and narrative by Béatrice Peltre. Find more of her work at latartinegourmande.com.

Baba Ganoush Serves 6 as an appetizer 3

medium Italian* eggplants (about 1 pound 10 ounces; 730 g) 2–3 tbsp olive oil 2–3 tbsp tahini paste 1–2 tbsp lemon juice 1 garlic clove, crushed 2 tbsp chopped parsley 1 tbsp chopped mint Sea salt and black pepper Dash of smoked paprika ¼ cup pomegranate seeds * They are smaller in size than regular eggplants

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place eggplants on baking sheet and poke with a fork to make small holes. Place in oven and roast for 20 minutes. Turn, and continue to roast, turning every 20 minutes, for about 1 hour. Remove and cool. Peel while they are still warm and scoop out flesh and place in colander—discard skins. Let the flesh drain, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer eggplant flesh to a bowl and mash finely. Stir in olive oil, tahini, and lemon juice. Season to taste with garlic, parsley, mint, salt, and pepper. Add a dash of paprika and pomegranate seeds. Serve with pita wedges or chips.

Read the rest of this article Mindful’s October 2014 in mindful 31 October 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org


business

Innovation has become the watchword for success in today’s economy and two young, dynamic Americans are helping to reimagine commerce. Danae Ringelmann and Matthew Stinchcomb run highly successful, global companies with a combined worth of over one billion dollars. We find out who they are, how they’re doing it, and why they believe mindfulness is a key element in their business models.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY NIRAV PATEL

Building Mindful Brands


Danae Ringelmann is the co-founder of Indiegogo, a crowdfunding platform. Headquartered in San Francisco, its goal is to empower anyone with an idea to be able to raise enough funds to bring it to fruition. Nine million people from around the world visit the site monthly.

Read the rest of this article Mindful’s October 2014 in mindful 35 October 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org


part 4 of a 6-part series

getting started: fitting it in

FITTING MEDITATION

Meditation with others gives a big boost to your practice. On this page: A sitting session about to start at the New York Insight Meditation Center.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALAN BAILEY/RUBBERBALL PRODUCTIONS/GETTY IMAGES

into your life


Going to work, taking care of family, socializing, exercising, housekeeping. Whew. What busy lives we lead! How can we find time to include one more thing—even something

Resources to Keep You Going

as valuable as mindfulness practice? In this fourth installment of our Getting Started series, we show you ways to weave meditation into your life by 1

finding a good instructor,

program,

3

2

choosing a meditation

practicing with other people, and

4

creating

a personalized "meditation diet" that helps you fit it into your busy schedule.

Getting into meditation practice can seem like a VERY BIG DEAL. It can sound like a project that involves becoming a totally new you. But when you get right down to it, there’s no new you whom you need to find. What most of us want is to find, within our ordinary life, some ways to get in touch with ourselves and find a reservoir of composure we can draw on when the going gets tough. Some kind of regular mindfulness practice helps us to tap into that reservoir, to call upon it in the middle of a tough day, which is not always easy. When something unexpected or unpleasant happens—a driver cuts us off in traffic, a boss criticizes work we’ve done, a loved one is diagnosed with cancer—our body’s fight-or-flight response, so useful to us when we face real danger, kicks in. Our heart beats rapidly. We flush with anger or remorse. We feel put upon. We want justice. Or relief. But every one of those hiccups or setbacks in our daily lives is also an opportunity. In those moments of stress, it is in our power to step back, breathe, feel the sensations in the body, examine them with curiosity, and move on.

The challenge, of course, is remembering to do that more often. It doesn’t happen of its own accord. That’s why a regular meditation practice can make such a difference. It helps us to develop an awareness of what is happening to our bodies and minds in those challenging moments. And in that moment of awareness, we can pause. In the following pages, we explore ways to deepen and strengthen the mindfulness habit. Everything begins with some regular practice. If we can find as little as five or ten or 20 minutes a day, or twice a day, we’re on our way. We can adjust the amount of time later, depending on schedule and inclination. But for many of us it's difficult to start and difficult to carry on. Our daily practice can feel isolated if we are only doing it alone. And while the time spent by ourselves is important and powerful, we can deepen our experience by reaching out to others—a meditation teacher and a group of fellow meditators—or going on an occasional retreat or taking a course.

GUIDED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION By Jon Kabat-Zinn The next best thing to taking an MBSR course with the founder. First in a 3-part series.

INSIGHT TIMER A no-frills tool for timing a meditation. Those who want to share meditation with an online community or group of friends can do so.

THE NOW EFFECT How a Mindful Moment Can Change the Rest of Your Life By Elisha Goldstein Filled with short practices to insert throughout the day.

Photographs by Joshua Simpson Illustrations by Jason Lee Read the rest of this article Mindful’s October 2014 in mindful 45 October 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org



medicine

The Doctor is Not Well They’re among the most well-educated and highly trained people in our society. They perform a vital role in our nation’s health and stand on the line between life and death for us and for our children. They’re also very unhappy—here’s what some are trying to do about it. By Mona Gable Illustrations by Lincoln Agnew

Five years ago, as her fortieth birthday neared, Dr. Jodi Jacobson felt intensely unhappy. Yet she didn’t understand why. As the chief of the neonatology intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital in Kansas City, she had a deeply satisfying and challenging medical career. She and her husband, a successful lawyer, had been married nearly 20 years. Although one of her children struggles with autism, her other two children were thriving. On the surface, their lives looked almost perfect. None of that mattered. Dr. Jacobson was questioning everything about her comfortable life. Before their marriage, she and her husband had traveled extensively and had hoped to live overseas. After finishing medical school, she had never intended to stay in Kansas City,

45.8% of U.S. physicians report symptoms of burnout They also work an average of 10 hours more per week than other U.S. workers and are nearly twice as likely to be dissatisfied with their work-life balance. Physicians in front-line positions (family, internal, and emergency medicine) are at greatest risk.

yet inertia had held her in place. She felt lost, unsure whether she even wanted to be married anymore. Although passionate about caring for sick and premature babies, she found the tremendous pressures of the job and the tumultuous changes in health care made her irritable and depressed. “I was in crisis,” said Dr. Jacobson, a self-assured woman with intelligent blue eyes and dark blonde curly hair. In the middle of this turmoil, she asked herself , “Do I want to change things on the inside? Or do I want to change things on the outside?” This is a classic case of burnout, a now pervasive problem for physicians and others on medicine’s front lines. In 2012, JAMA Internal Medicine published the →

Read the rest of this article Mindful’s October 2014 in mindful 53 October 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org


Illustrations by Andrew Bannecker


in practice

insight

the scary, winding road through change When changes happen, how do you negotiate the transitions that often come with them? How do you move forward to a new stage and how can mindfulness help this process?

By Jeremy Hunter

Jeremy Hunter is assistant professor of practice at the Peter F. Drucker School of Management. His Executive Mind course helps managers manage themselves and their inner transitions. His great grandfather was a sumo wrestler.Â

Read the rest of this article Mindful’s October 2014 in mindful 71 October 2014 issue. Subscribe at mindful.org


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