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Feature Article #1

God, country and the fourth of July - Susan Kaiser Greenland

With all of these other parades going on why was the lack of one on the Fourth of July so important to him? Because it was the largest and most public way he could honor a country that had given him and his family so much.

Susan | July 3rd, 2008 | Continued

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Feature Article #2

Attention - Susan Kaiser Greenland

While attention is fundamental to mindfulness training for kids it absolutely is NOT the whole picture. Mindfulness training focuses on two areas of practice that are taught in tandem -awareness (or attention) practices and kindness practices. Without the elements of kindness and compassion, attention training simply isn’t mindfulness.

Susan | June 30th, 2008 | Continued

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Feature Article #3

A Powerful Teaching — Trudy Goodman

On June 9th, my birthday, this unknown girl touches my heart. She evokes the compassionate teaching of all the special kids who are different somehow: we don’t have to be afraid of what we don’t yet understand — we don’t have to be scared of shrieks and groans — or of our own minds and hearts.

Trudy | June 29th, 2008 | Continued

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Feature Article #4

Too Much Green — Seth Greenland

Every major development in human history was brought about by someone who was once a kid who thought a little differently. But Galileo in fifth grade? Perhaps he wasn’t the easiest boy to teach in science class.

Seth | June 28th, 2008 | Continued

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Feature Article #5

SisterFriendSister — Amy Spies

As I’ve grown up and evolved myself, girlfriends have become increasingly important to me, and like sisters. They really do feel like a growing extended family, a net for me in case I stumble, a warm embracing hug for when I need that. I kind of mentally picture the women in my life as a circle around me, holding hands and full of life. Hmmm—kind of like those circles we made with our children in preschool holding a parachute.

Amy | June 27th, 2008 | Continued

About this Site

My guess is that you clicked on this page because you are wondering who we are and what we hope to accomplish. For what it’s worth, we are trying to figure that out ourselves. But, in the spirit of open source, we decided to let you in on our process […]

Other Recent Articles

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What is your pace of life? — Sue Smalley

Children and adults with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) are often moving at a different pace than those around them, and that can be a source of difficulty. Recognizing your pace (and ranges of comfort and discomfort) can be an important part in discovering how to sync with the world around you.

June 26th, 2008 | Sue | 2 comments | Continued
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The ties that bind. — Susan Kaiser Greenland

When a child is not bogged down by a preconceived notion of right or wrong there is less of an emotional charge around taking a look at life experience exactly as it is. This doesn’t mean that whatever is happening is ethically neutral, it just means that it is useful to teach kids to view experience objectively before taking action.

June 26th, 2008 | Susan | 0 comments | Continued
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MINDFUL IN THE CHAOS — Seth Greenland

But what about when a storm does hit, what then Mr. Mindful? To that I would say this: When a storm hits, do everything you can to keep safe and dry. And keep clearly in mind that the storm will exhaust itself, pass on, and blue skies will literally return. When in the middle of a giant upset, this is the thing to focus on.

June 19th, 2008 | Seth | 0 comments | Continued
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Why I can’t wait for the new Hand-Held Wireless Telephone: Prohibited Use – Vehicle Code 23123 to go into effect. — Diana Winston

I can’t wait for the new law to go into effect because my mindfulness has been seriously at risk thanks to using my cell phone in my car.

June 17th, 2008 | Diana | 0 comments | Continued
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A Mindful Instant Message — Amy Spies and her daughter Paris

Here’s an IM between me and my daughter Paris.
agpj (8:05:54 PM): Hi Paris,
agpj (8:07:39 PM): I though t we could chat a bit about what it means to be a mindful mom. I know you’ve been exposed to this world through myself and Susan Kaiser Greenland and helping her and Trudy Goodman teach meditative […]

June 17th, 2008 | Amy | 0 comments | Continued
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Teaching Mindfulness to Children - Susan Kaiser Greenland

I’m a mom with a mission. Every movement has its breakthrough moment–a time when it no longer has to defend what it is saying and doing because the problem it has identified is so clear that others need no coaxing to join. Mindfulness training for children has arrived at that moment.

June 16th, 2008 | Susan | 11 comments | Continued
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Four Steps Towards Peace — Sue Smalley

So what can we do to address our varying levels of ignorance and create a more peaceful and compassionate world? I believe there are four steps we each can take everyday to promote a more compassionate world.

June 15th, 2008 | Sue | 0 comments | Continued
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There’s a lot less honesty going around than people are willing to admit to. — Kelley McCabe

And, in that one moment, I thought I understood the meaning of the word “freedom”. I didn’t have to let my previous upset impact my interaction with my son. It was a new moment, all its own, and I was completely free to experience it independently of any other moment (or set of moments).

June 15th, 2008 | Kelley | 0 comments | Continued
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Why can’t all children have what we do? Trudy Goodman

I had seen raggedy five year olds taking care of skinny babies and blind babies and begging children crippled from polio and moms with TB and, and, and…

June 14th, 2008 | Trudy | 4 comments | Continued
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You Can’t Handle the Truth - Sue Smalley

James Carse in his new book, The Religious Case against Belief, writes of various types of ignorance differing in the degree of effort present with each. As the flip side of ignorance is awareness, it also comes with various shades of effort. It does take effort to direct my eyesight inward and see the 1000+ regions of mind (good and evil) and to realize that perhaps the greatest purpose in in life is the discovery process.

June 10th, 2008 | Sue | 0 comments | Continued
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Being a mom is not always pretty, and neither is mindfulness. Susan Kaiser Greenland

I don’t glorify the unpleasant nor am I a masochist. I just find the edginess of motherhood interesting. And when I read greeting cards, and parenting books, and magazine articles, and wellness blogs extolling the sweetness without mentioning the sour, well . . . . I get bored.

June 10th, 2008 | Susan | 1 comment | Continued
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Why is my husband on the Internet in his underpants? - Susan Kaiser Greenland

My brilliant and erudite husband has a new book coming out and it seems as if the ‘author video’ is de rigeur - I uploaded a screenshot and posted it below . . .

June 7th, 2008 | Susan | 0 comments | Continued
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The Meaning of Moments — Kelley McCabe

What I’ve thought about lately are the big moments I do remember. The moments that were unbelievably exciting and noteworthy at the time and now seem impossible… or worse: a waste of time.

June 6th, 2008 | Kelley | 0 comments | Continued
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Mother of Thousands - Trudy Goodman

Mindfulness is about balance: being aware of one’s own experience while being sensitive and attuned to our impact on others. In our lives, we are continually falling out of balance. . .

June 5th, 2008 | Trudy | 5 comments | Continued
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Not so fit - Lisa Dinsmore

What keeps me going back for more? I can’t stand “losing” to a machine. I realize this is a competition only in my mind, but since it’s keeping track of my fitness “progress” I’m compelled to make it change its’ tune and am scared every time I step on the board. I guess anything that gets the heart rate up is a good thing, right?

June 5th, 2008 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Alice and Rebecca Walker Clash: Do Feminist Mothers Have to Choose Between Dreams and Diapers?

What I take issue with, and I am not alone, is Rebecca’s black and white take on mothering — there is her mother, the selfish careerist, and then there is her, the new mom who argues that all that should matter to a young woman with children is “a happy family.” What happened to the self-preserving and child-loving in between?

June 4th, 2008 | Diana | 0 comments | Continued
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Do the best you can - Susan Sawyers

With just days to go before the school year comes to an end and all of the celebrations, birthdays, ceremonies, not to mention day-to-day routines, I need to remind myself of the quality time we have together. It’s not quantity. The right thing is to love my boy all up. It’s the best I can do.

June 4th, 2008 | Susan Sawyers | 1 comment | Continued
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When a work ethic conflicts with fun - Sue Smalley

Scientists are showing that play is important for health and well-being, having fun makes us live happier and healthier lives. So what stops us from having fun?

June 3rd, 2008 | Sue | 3 comments | Continued
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Kids and Stress - No Day at the Beach - Susan Kaiser Greenland

Even though we have long accepted it as true for ourselves, it is difficult to accept that our kids will have to deal with problems too. To make matters much, much worse, some of them will be serious ones. Nothing will change that fact, even though we do everything humanly possible to protect them.

June 1st, 2008 | Susan | 0 comments | Continued
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Just the facts m’am . . . . .

• By 12th grade, our children score lower on math and science tests than most other kids in the world.
• We now have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation.
• Six million students are reading below their grade level.

May 30th, 2008 | Susan | 0 comments | Continued
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The New Elitism In Education Reform - Susan Kaiser Greenland

Obama again offered a nuanced approach. . . for those watching education he did something very interesting. He took the national stage to support a specific philosophy of learning – an integrative curriculum.

May 29th, 2008 | Susan | 0 comments | Continued
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Why are women still NOT running for office?

When you get a chance, check out this Brookings Institute Report: Extensive research shows that when women run for office, they perform just as well as men. Yet women remain severely under-represented in our political institutions. In this report, we argue that the fundamental reason for women’s under-representation is that they do not run for office. There is a substantial gender gap in political ambition; men tend to have it, and women don’t.

May 29th, 2008 | Susan | 0 comments | Continued
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NY Times Article on Mindfulness and Therapy

The NY Times published a well-balanced article by Benedict Carey in today’s newspaper entitled Lotus Therapy about the integration of mindfulness meditation into psychology. For those interested in the area it is worth a look.

May 27th, 2008 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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God and the Man in the White House. Seth Greenland

Today on Huffington Post, Seth writes that: there was a time when a politician’s relationship with the universe was a private matter about which he or she could choose to reflect deeply, or not. But now religion is just another signifier, like lapel pins, an item to be checked off when we’re evaluating would-be presidents. Allow me to quote Eric Hoffer: “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”

May 23rd, 2008 | Seth | 2 comments | Continued
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Supermom Kelley McCabe

I can no longer protect them from the results of their folly, regardless of who is to blame. I cannot fix all their problems. It’s unlikely I will be able to do much to change their basic outlook on life. I have not been a perfect mother and we all must live with the consequences.

May 23rd, 2008 | Kelley | 0 comments | Continued
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Post-Zionism in a diaspora world. Tom Teicholz

In Israel itself, 60 years of existential peril have created a sense of living in the moment — currently there is a surprising sense of well-being among certain strata of the Israeli population that comes from focusing on family, on work and on materialistic concerns divorced from national and political concerns. When you live in the moment, you can live anywhere:

May 21st, 2008 | Tom | 0 comments | Continued
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Things that feel good. Janet Pierson

Maybe because for so long I lived in my head. For decades people hassled me, “You think too much!” So in this later phase, I’ve been embracing the modalities that get me out of my head. The mind/body connection is powerful and real. And once you come to understand and start to work with it, the changes are palpable.

May 21st, 2008 | Janet | 1 comment | Continued
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Can Teens Meditate? Diana Winston

In this Teen Day of Mindfulness, one boy said, “I have been really upset since my girlfriend broke up with me this week. I noticed that if I just focused on my breath, I didn’t have to think about her. Every time my thoughts went there, I just returned to my breath. I felt less messed up than I have all week. That’s amazing.”

May 20th, 2008 | Diana | 0 comments | Continued
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Who knew the Pope and Chubby Checker had so much in common? Seth Greenland

Not long ago a group of Vatican theological advisors recommended eliminating the concept of limbo and Pope Benedict XVI signed off on it. This troubles me deeply. Although I am not a Catholic, I have great admiration for that religion. Their art collection is unsurpassed, their clergy know how to put on an excellent show, […]

May 19th, 2008 | Seth | 0 comments | Continued
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What do a meme and a California tax loophole for yacht owners have in common? - Susan Kaiser Greenland

I sometimes wish I were the kind of person who could grab the caviar and champagne in a crisis, but nope, I’d go for the life raft.

May 14th, 2008 | Susan | 2 comments | Continued