Feeling a Little Stressed?

Feeling a little stressed? We are constantly dealing with a myriad of stressors, both external and internal, in our lives. Throw on top of these "normal" stressors the added stress of caregiving and we are often pushed over the edge from coping to crisis. Do you want to learn some simple to implement tools of relaxation and mindfulness into your life to create moments of calm in your busyness? 

I will be presenting one of my most popular workshops: Creating Calm Within Crisis on Tuesday, November 12 at Chestnut Park in Brighton, MA -- this workshop is free and open to professional and family caregivers.  Join me for refreshments and networking beginning at 5:00 PM.

 Please register with Dorothy Garfield at 617-536-1700. Hope to see you on November 12.

Creating Meaning After Loss -- Resilience

There is a curious phenomenon that happens when people survive a great loss, after the numbness of grief begins to subside there seems to be a primal need to begin to make sense of the loss, in a way Viktor Frankel wrote about this over 60 years ago in his book, Man's Search for Meaning and NPR explored this need in their story about finding meaning the death of a child. I encourage you to think back about your own losses, have you found a way to create meaning in your life informed by your darkest times? This is the essence of resilience...shifting from mourning to meaning making.

Fun Friday

It's Friday...time for a little fun! Check out this cool short animation video with Scrabble letters made for Stress Resources.

Starting the Day

How does technology mesh with mindfulness, or should I say is it possible to find some connection between the two? Yes, I do believe it is possible, but it must be deliberate use of technology. One of my favorite ways to connect technology with mindfulness is a daily practice I started several years ago. My very first email I open each day is one from Panhala (meaning "source of fresh water" in Hindi). Each day I spend a few moments of awareness with a new poem that speaks to mindfulness, compassion, life. Panhala is a free yahoo group, open to anyone who would like these moments of contemplation delivered to their inbox every day. Today's poem was especially appropriate:

life is a garden,

not a road

we enter and exit 

through the same gate

wandering,

where we go matters less 

than what we notice

~Bokonon~