Join Mindful Beginnings on Facebook

Mindful Beginnings has a new fan page on Facebook. Please friend us and suggest to your friends. Updates from the blog will be automatically shared on facebook!

Meditation to Eliminate Pain

I filed away an email that a fellow colleague had sent me. I finally read it and now realize why I hadn't deleted it. The article was about a study that revealed how meditating can reduce the feeling of pain. Why? Because our brains are able to anticipate the feeling of pain less.*

Where I live, I don't meet people in my every day life that tell me, "Oh, yeah, I meditate all the time! It's so easy!" Nope. Rather the opposite. I find that I meet people who are stressed and use some kind of external source to find relaxation, be it exercise, food, alcohol, etc..

I've done all those things. Yet, the feeling I have when I meditate is one that comes from deep witin. From a place that I can't explain. I don't feel like I need all those external "things" to fill me up. And, oh...I am so at peace.

So this idea of pain: this is what I've been thinking about. With the many different types of clients that I serve, it truly doesn't matter why they are coming to me. They all have "pain" of some sort. Pain over wanting to conceive a baby. Pain over being cleated on the soccer field which now requires surgery. Pain over the loss of a loved one. Pain, pain, pain. It's all around us. We've all experienced it. And this is why I can't just hold myself to serving one population of people. It doesn't matter to me who you are and what circumstances led you to me (or me to you!) What matters is that we all begin to figure out ways (in this oh-so-fast-paced world) to SLOW our minds down and live in the way research is just now proving to be the BEST way to live.

So meditate. There are so many ways to meditate, but here's one way to start if you've never done so before:
Light a candle and set a timer for five minutes. Sit and close your eyes. Listen to your breath as you breathe in and out. If your mind starts to tell you that you need to cancel your dentist appointment, then be sure you have a pen and paper nearby. Jot down that thought (and any other) and return to your breath. Your breath has always been there for you, waiting to fill your lungs more deeply with oxygen. Picture all the goodness that you're doing for your body, your mind and your SOUL. Before you know it, that timer will go off!

I love what I do. I love helping people find their place of peace (and having them realize it was always there to greet them).

Happy mediating!

Lisa

*"Meditation reduces the emotional impact of pain." June 2nd, 2010. www.physorg.com/news194691626.html

Does Counseling Work?

I always ask my clients, whether it's taking a yoga class for the first time, eating a new veggie (hey, we do this with our kids, right?), or going to counseling, to give it 4 sessions before making a decision as to whether it's working or not. Has anyone really liked kale after the first try? :)

That said, there are so many different kinds of counselors out there.
You are always welcome to ask questions/interview a therapist to see if there's "chemistry", or the therapist is "in line" with what you are looking for.
I just had a client that felt after 2 sessions with me we just weren't a fit. I told her that I respected her for knowing what she wanted and we bid farewell. I've also had (strangely, in the last 3 months) clients that did a piece of work and have now returned, saying they are "ready" to go into their "stuff" more.
I know that when I first started my practice in 1996 I didn't have all the tools I have now when working with clients. And one of those tools is just paying attention to whether we breathe when we talk. Paying attention to getting air in can do wonders when we're feeling anxious/down. I love watching how (as babies) we breathe like frogs! The whole side-ribs expand and the breath is like a wind tunnel. Then... life happens and we shut down that wind tunnel. I love watching how clients can choose to breathe no matter what happens around them.
This I have learned in my own therapy. As well, my own therapy has helped me to be sure I'm not projecting onto my clients the stuff that really belongs to me.
Therapy CAN feel good. You can even look forward to the time that you chose to carve out of your day to grow more. Therapy can feel like going to get fuel for your engine. It helps you tick. You can put your engine in the garage and then take it out for another "spin around the block." The point is (I think) that you are the only one that knows if you need counseling. You are the only one that knows if you feel happy inside (and don't need the "thing" or external source to get you there). You are the only one that can decide what's right for you!
Just being an active particpant in this journey of life, being aware, being all that you can be is what the world needs most. (I think I hear that song entitled, "What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love." Help me if that's not the right title!)

Happy day,
Lisa
...............................................................................................................................................

Play Off Perspective

Whether you have a child playing baseball, soccer, football or lacrosse, this time of year usually entails some sort of Play-Off experience, ultimately ending with the Championship team walking away with a trophy. Below is an article I wrote for the local little league, but many of the principles involved apply to any sports team. Please read it and continue to help me promote mindful and conscious playing out on the ball field/s.

Lisa



"Sometimes a hitter gets a hit, sometimes I strike them out, but in neither case does anyone die." ~ Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez



Anyone walking by the ball field, you can sense the pressure or anxiety that our kids feel during play-off season. Some of it is of their own doing, and some is from the adults! How can we insure that our kids can be kids and just play ball?



Perhaps we have to go back to that old-fashioned Parent Pledge that was created at the Little League National Level. Here it is:



I will teach all children to play fair and do their best.
I will positively support all managers, coaches and players.
I will respect the decisions of the umpires.
I will praise a good effort despite the outcome of the game.



Here's our chance to put into practice what other communities take to heart. Why? Because we want our kids to WANT to return to this beloved sport next year. And... we don't want to have a story like they did in Port Lucie, FL where their local headline read:



"Spectator Bites off Man’s Ear at Youth Baseball Game.”



Why did this happen? The story discussed how a losing ball player began to yell obnoxiously. A fan on the opposing team hit him, and ball player's dad attacked that fan. In doing so, the dad bit the fan's ear! During this event, a nine month old was knocked out of her mother's arms!

Is this what we want our baseball community to be about? I ask because it's happening all around us. Have you ever witnessed a parent getting a little loud? A little too critical?



There was a 1995 report that said 5% of a crowd of parents would become problematic during a sporting event. The percentage increased to 15% five years later! (taken from Nat'l Alliance for Youth Sports). Things are getting a bit out of hand, shall we say! It's only until we realize that when the kids are noticing our behavior, and modeling themselves after what they see, can we begin to make change/s for ourselves...for the better. Let's have our Hermosa sports' community be of the 5%, and not the 15%!



Just for today...let's be thankful that we have an umpire who is willing to call the game, coaches that volunteer their time, and lollipops to use if we can't find anything positive to say!

The Green Idea House is Here Soon!

Below is a an email forwarded to me from friends of mine. They are doing such a great thing for our earth, I just had to share. In lieu of what has happened with the recent BP oil spill, any time we can be green in our efforts to help the earth, I sincerely applaud!

Lisa


Green Idea House is online!
Visit our new website www.GreenIdeaHouse.com and follow every step of our journey as we transform the Fortunato family home in Hermosa Beach, California into a fully net zero energy, zero carbon home.


Connect with us
Be sure to sign up for the RSS Feed or the corresponding Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter pages. That will connect you with the latest progress updates, news about green building and open the dialog with us throughout the planning and construction stages – and beyond.


Our Exciting Challenge
We are 100% committed to researching and implementing “green” building technologies so that our house becomes a practical case study for anyone who wants to replicate the process of cost-effective eco-renovation. As we move forward, we’re learning how to navigate the complexities of redesigning a home that consumes zero energy, emits zero carbon and still includes all the modern standards of human comfort. We’ve taken on this groundbreaking challenge so you don’t have to!


Green Idea House & the Community
The Green Idea House project is also acting as a catalyst in our broader community. The City of Hermosa Beach recently made a commitment to be the first city in Los Angeles County (maybe all of Southern California) to establish a plan and timeline to be a carbon neutral city – the “Green Idea City”. We are working directly with the Mayor and a committed group of local activists to bring the economic and environmental benefits of this action to fruition. You can read more about it at the following links:
Daily Breeze Op Ed
Hermosa Beach Patch


Inspired? Forward Our Website
Feel free to forward the Green Idea House website to anyone you think might be interested and inspired. We’re excited to share the adventure as we move closer to construction in the fall!

Look forward to connecting soon,

Robert and Monica Fortunato

Hermosa Beach Little League - Hermosa Beach, CA

Hi to my sports loving families! Here's an article I wrote for the Hermos Beach Little League that you may enjoy that addresses what Oscar Wilde refers to as "...you only get one chance to make a first impression." See how this relates to our lives, on and off the field.

Feeling the baseball fever,
Lisa

Click below:

Hermosa Beach Little League - Hermosa Beach, CA

I am a Writer

Hear me roar... I am a writer and I found my voice. I can't stop pouring out all the thoughts that come into my mind. I want to write a book. So many topics. Which one shall I pick?

Have you ever seen yourself doing something that hasn't happened yet? That's how I feel about this book. I can taste it, it's so close to being written. So I'll just trust in the universe to bring me the willingness to sit and have the discipline to do this. Do you have discipline like that? I think that's why I enjoyed playing on a sports team. No matter what, you showed up to practice and you just did it. That's the feeling that I need to create in myself again. So my topic for my book will hopefully be something that I will want to come back to. Again and again.

For now, I will go do some yoga and meditation to help ground me. So many ways to pull me in other directions. But.... I will keep my eyes on the prize. And it's not a Pulitzer that I'm talking about. It's the prize of self-care and the prize of knowing why I'm on the planet. I think I know why I'm here.
Yippee!

Lisa