Published: March, 2020

If you want to make fewer mental mistakes, try meditation, suggests a study in the September 2019 issue of Brain Sciences.

Researchers recruited 200 people who had never meditated and led them through a guided 20-minute meditation called open monitoring. While many styles of meditation have you focus on a single object, like your breathing or a visual image, the goal of open monitoring meditation is to pay more attention to your feelings and body sensations.

After meditating, participants took computerized tests in which they had to complete tasks while exposed to regular distractions. Their brain activity was measured by electroencephalography (EEG) during both meditation and test-taking.

The researchers found that when the meditators made a mistake on the test and recognized it, the EEG showed an increase in specific neural signals known as conscious error recognition representing the brain's ability to identify mistakes.

While the study did not find that meditation reduced the number of mistakes people made during the test, the practice did increase error awareness. And a crucial step to making fewer errors is to recognize mistakes, so you can keep them from happening again.

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Meditation may help you catch mental mistakes - Harvard Health

The Wellness Room at Thompson library is currently under construction. Credit: Amal Saeed | Photo Editor

A new space in Thompson Library opening Wednesday will give students another place to engage in prayer or meditation on campus in line with the Undergraduate Student Government administrations original campaign platform.

During the past few years, USG has discussed adding another wellness room similar to the other six already on campus, Julia Dennen, USG vice president and a fourth-year in public management, leadership and policy, said. The new Thompson space, which was previously a study room, will open for use this semester and will be renovated and completed over the summer.

This is the beginning launch of it, over the summer they are going to take out they are going to renovate it more so it will be better, Dennen said. But they are taking out the TVs and stuff this week, and then over the summer they are going to repaint it and do all of those things.

White boards will also be removed from the room, soft furniture will be added and an opaque film will be applied in the center of the glass panes of the room, Dennen said.

The creation of the space has been discussed in the past, but it was most important to figure out where on campus the biggest need for the space was, Kate Greer, USG president and fourth-year in European history and German, said.

This has been years in the making, honestly. Its been a discussion circulating since before Julia and I got here about the need for more interfaith prayer spaces or spaces that can serve that function on campus, Greer said.

There are six spaces on campus including in the 18th Avenue Library, Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State and Ohio Union but there was a need for one more centrally located, according to the Muslim Students Association at Ohio States website. After conversations with the MSA, Greer confirmed that need and USG decided Thompson would be the best location.

We learned that Thompson was the most immediate need, and we worked for about nine months to get this done, Dennen said.

According to a 2017 Lantern article, USG previously passed a resolution recommending a more strictly defined use of the spaces already on campus.

The Ohio Union space is often used for meetings and is listed as one of the meeting spaces available for reservation. The resolution suggested that the policy should be reconsidered and the space should be used only for prayer and religious purposes.

The wellness room opens Wednesday in Thompson Library Room 057 and will be available for all types of meditation and prayer.

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Prayer, meditation room opens in Thompson Library Wednesday - OSU - The Lantern

Friday night, come down to Yogis and enjoy the Spencer Cole Band at 9 p.m. The band is described as a classic rock band with a strong Texas boogie and blues influence or a Texas boogie and blues band with a classic rock influence. More info here.

Mardi Gras 2020 has approached. Celebrate Fat Tuesday a little early at Oak Highlands Brewery. On Saturday, 11 a.m., the 5th annual Mardi Gras and crawfish boil begins. There will be boiled crawfish and shrimp from Tucker Town, New Orleans style music from Mr. CJs, beer with some special tappings and activities for the whole family. More info here.

If you would rather spend your Saturday doing some community service, head to the Willie B. Johnson Recreation Center at noon for a Hamilton Park cleanup. More info here. Sign up here.

Bull luv able Paws and Chi Wawas Rescue is hosting a dog adoption event at Hollywood Feed at 2 p.m. Come see adorable adoptable pups at Hollywood Feed and do some shopping. Who knows, maybe youll meet your new family member. More info here.

Work, school, life stressing you out? Do you need to listen to music and clear your mind? At 8 p.m. head to Y.A.M. studio for a music and meditation event. Angela Marie will lead a guided meditation journey. Bring your worries, your tears, your joys, your desires- all is welcome here. Live music lead by Casey Gallagher through vocals and guitar. More info here.

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Mardi Gras, music, meditation, other things to do this weekend - Advocate Media

For a go-to evening meditation to help you settle in, I came up with this quick, 15-minute meditation, perfect for unwinding at the end of the day.

The meditation couples a heart-based intention with a breathing technique to relax your nervous system. In addition to that, we'll check in with our bodies and minds, reflecting on the completed dayand letting anything negative go, like existing grudges or something upsetting that happened.

We'll also work with a variation of the Serenity Prayer: "I have made peace with the things I cannot change; I have made peace with the thing that I cannot change. I have the courage to change the things that I can; I have the courage to change the things that I can. And I have the wisdom to know the difference; I have the wisdom to know the difference."

As we go through the meditation, don't worry if your attention slips away. Come back to your intention, the sound of my voice, and continue on. You can expect your mind to wander here and there during meditationit is a practice, after all.

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Long Day? This 15-Minute Meditation Will Help You Unwind & Sleep Better - mindbodygreen.com

Mike Serbinis is more than a successful Silicon Valley executive who made it big by growing and selling tech companies. The current founder and CEO of the healthcare company League is also a passionate advocate for mindfulness in the workplace.

These days, you cant walk into a startup without seeing employees hitting a ping pong ball back-and-forth while sipping a freshly tapped beer. Its become the signature of todays hip, millennial organization.

And in most instances, thats great! Perks like these are an excellent way for hard-working employees to socialize and decompress from daily stressors. But aside from creating a healthy distraction, how do they help the whole of an employee?

Mike Serbinis

Mike thinks leaders should look beyond the fun, quirky extras, and also encourage their team members to look within. He believes that being mindful in the workplace will bring advantages to your business that no foosball table ever could.

Here are Mikes insights on creating a mindful company and culture, as well as the benefits that wellness will offer every team member.

Bringing Mindfulness into the Office

For Mike, a companys culture is defined by its values. So, if you want to implement a culture of mindfulness into your organization, how do you start integrating these wellness-based values?

For one, leaders must intentionally integrate mindfulness into the whole of their company. Its not some occasional, thrown-together event. At a mindful company, workplace wellness is a consistent part of the routine.

At League, Mike and his leadership team have made this routine a priority. We have Meditation Monday, Mike says. Its exactly what it sounds like. We do meditations in our town hall or different areas around our space.

In addition to Meditation Mondays, League also facilitates Yoga Wednesdays, Mental Health Fridays, and many more ongoing wellness initiatives. We started to build these foundational blocks. It puts our teams health and wellbeing at the center. For us, thats kind of our thing.

Its not a shtick.

Theyre also up-front about the importance of mindfulness at their organization. If a potential employee isnt into it, then its probably not the right fit.

In todays work environment, valuing peoples mental health is not something that you take care of through a claim to your insurer when its bad, says Mike. Its something that you take care of all the time. Youre proactive.

Thats the new foosball table and snack bar.

The Benefits of a Mindful Workplace

Its not just Mike thats uncovered the advantages of a corporate wellness practice. A growing number of high-level business leaders, entrepreneurs, and C-suite executives actively promote meditation at work as well.

For example, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff had meditation rooms built on every floor at his companys San Francisco headquarters. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey regularly embarks on extended silent retreats. Oprah Winfrey encourages her staff to meditate twice a day.

Though mindful leaders like these can surely state countless benefits, there are a few that Mike personally notices more than others.

Collaboration and Creativity

One pivotal lesson within the meditation world is about always living with a beginners mind. In essence, this means being open to continuous learning, whether youre the intern or the CEO.

Mike encourages his entire team to show up with that mentality. With a beginners mind, all team members feel encouraged to come to the table with their personal life experiences.

Its amazing, he says. Ive been able to learn about different health practices and ways of working. This leads to immense collaboration and creative ideas that wouldve never emerged if the idea only stayed on top.

[At League], it doesnt matter if youre in marketing or data science or whatever. You have a role in helping us create this healthier future, says Mike.

Goal-Setting

With daily meditation, you provide yourself the opportunity for consistent self-reflection. Here, you can thoroughly analyze your past successes and failures. With this clarity, youll be able to better plan and tackle your future goals.

The routine also creates a place to pause and reflect. Its a leaders safe headspace to go to when things dont go quite right, or if youre unsure of the next move.

Im a big planner and performance-minded goal-setter, Mike says. Its not that I want to hit every goal. Its not that at all. Its the process. I think of it as an important part of the journey.

Balance

By promoting mindfulness at work, the entire team can reflect on what matters most. From here, they can prioritize the totality of their lives and create a healthy work-life balance.

For example, when it comes to online communication channels like email and Slack, Mike encourages his employees to log off and fully live their lives outside of the office. Were pretty diligent about not askingbut telling people to put it on snooze, he says. We just dont need the mental trauma right before bed."

No matter how much we love our jobs, who will look back on life wishing they spent more time responding to messages at midnight? We have limited time, he says. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow, so I want to make the most of my time. And he knows his team members want the same.

Since League launched its workplace wellness and mindfulness initiatives, these values have become an integral part of the companys core.

Its rooted in who we are, and its taken on a life of its own in a million different ways, Mike says. We enact it. We live it.

Listen to my entire conversation with Mike Serbinis on the donothing podcast.

You'll learn more about his early successes in Silicon Valley, why he believes workplace mindfulness isnt just a trend, what life and leadership lessons hes learned as a tech entrepreneur, and so much more.

Id love to connect with you on Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as have you keep up with my company imageOne. Learn about my mission to show business leaders how mindfulness can transform you and your business in my book donothing. Visit http://www.donothingbook.com for more information.

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Why More Startups Are Saying Goodbye To Foosball Tables And Hello To Meditation Rooms - Forbes

When singer and author Justin Michael Williams approached writing his first book by trying to answer one key question: How are you supposed to meditate when the world around you is in a state of chaos?

His answer comes in the form of Stay Woke: A Meditation Guide for the Rest of Us, which detailing meditation plans, affirmations and guides for keeping yourself in a state of mindfulness for marginalized people everywhere."If you meditate when youre black, or gay, or trans, or poor ... youll start to break free from the chains that keep you in your place and that have kept your family and your people in their place for so long," he tells Billboardvia email. "The fact that we, today, even have the opportunity to think about things like mental health and manifesting and life purpose is an opportunity and privilege that we cannot take for granted. We have been paid for. And we cannot take that for granted."

To accompany his new book, Williams also released a new song, "I Am Enough," an anthem of empowerment for the communities in need of affirmation. But it's in the song's remixes that the star decided to do something different: instead of releasing club-ready productions, the star teamed up with producer Jon Chau to create relaxing "meditation remixes" of his song, to help assist his fans in their mindfulness.

"Most meditation music is just full of gongs and cheesy nature sounds," he says. "And if you want to hear anything other than that, you have to search through random playlists of electronic study or focus music that isnt really created with the idea of empowerment or meditation in mind."

Williams chatted withBillboardabout writing his new book, his upcoming meditation tour and more:

How did you go about putting togther the "meditation remixes" of your new single "I Am Enough"

With everything going on in the world today, Ive been feeling like weve been in desperate need of a positive feel-good anthem that isnt about sex or partying, but empowers us intosomething greater. The song I Am Enough was born from that. It seems no matter how much we meditate or how much we achieve or accomplish, there's always that little child inside of each of us who just wants to hear, 'You are enough.'I love a good pop anthem, but I also love listening to vibey music when Im working, being creative, or meditatingbut most meditation music is just full of gongs and cheesy nature sounds.And if you want to hear anything other than that, you have to search through random playlists of electronic study or focus music that isnt really created with the idea of empowerment or meditation in mind.

So I had an idea. And it actually came to me on a hike. I thoughtwhat if I could take the empowerment anthem I Am Enough and rebuild it from the ground up in a way that was specifically curated for creativity, meditation, and focus. From that, the meditation mixes were born. I worked with an amazing producer and friend who Ive known since college namedJon Chau to completely reconstruct the songmaking it mostly instrumental, while still retaining the signature melody and most importantly, the mantra of the song: I Am Enough. In the original version, those words, I Am Enough, are a chorus, but in the meditation mix they become amantra: reminding you of your power and greatness as you meditate, work, and create. My plan is to keep releasing meditation mixes for every song I have coming out this year.

Stay Wokedeals with learning meditation as a marginalized person in society, and offers techniques for people on how to stay mindful of that reality while trying to achieve this level of calm. What made you want to write this story?

One of the biggest lies people have been told about meditation is that its about relaxing. But the truth is, meditation is not aboutrelaxing, its aboutbecoming more alive. More connected to your passions, your emotions, the people you care about, and the causes you believe in. If you meditate when youre black, or gay, or trans, or poor or [insert marginalized voice here], youll start to break free from the chains that keep you in your place and that have kept your family and your people in their place for so long. The fact that we, today, even have the opportunity to think about things like mental health and manifesting and life purpose is an opportunity and privilege that we cannot take for granted. We have been paid for. And we cannot take that for granted. For many of us, we are the first generation to start doing the inner-work needed to break these cycles. So its important that we have practices like meditation that keep us grounded in who we really are as we fight for things like justice, equality, peace, and purpose.

Yourupcoming tourfor the book also doesn't follow the traditional path of a book tour, but instead offers mass meditations. What are you hoping attendees get from the events?

My publisher Sounds True and I are skipping the traditional book tour model which usually involves book store readings in affluent neighborhoods and instead going on a give-back tour to some of the most impacted cities in the United States. Places that dont typically get access to things like mindfulness and mental health.In each city were doing a big event thats like a mix between a TED Talk and a music concert and giving away thousands of books and teaching kids to meditate.

I want you to picture this: tens of thousands of students across America are going to be in a room together singing the words I Am Enough. My mission is to use music, and meditation, and empowerment to teach them to a life-changing practice that will help them feel more connected to their sense of power, purpose, and possibility. The practice of meditation quite literally saved my life. I grew up in a home with gunshot holes engraved onto the outside of my house, and now I have the blessing of traveling the world to speak and teach and perform and live my dream. I want to make sure every single kid out there gets that opportunity to live theirs well.

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Justin Michael Williams Wants You to 'Stay Woke' While Meditating With His New Book & Single - Billboard

I Tried Delta's On-Demand Meditation Podcasts

Traveling is one of my biggest passions as for the flying part, not so much.

With my bi-weekly pilgrimage to JFK International Airport comes preboarding jitters, mainly focused around my ability to be comfortable and sleep through the flight.

Luckily, with all the flyer miles I've logged, I've picked up some anxiety-aiding tricks of the trade. My favorite: Delta's onboard meditation podcasts.

Not that sitting in coach is comfortable for anyone, but being 5'10" makes it a tad more challenging. I'm often left restless trying to find a comfortable position in the middle seat without disturbing my neighbors, and the anxiety never fails to creep in.

"You know how you can watch TV shows and movies with Delta?" a colleague asked after hearing of my flying woes. "They now offer meditation podcasts, too you should give them a listen."

During my next red-eye, on my way home from skiing in Utah, I typed "meditation" in the TV search bar and tuned in to the Meditations For Travel podcast by Ten Percent Happier to help drown out rumbling feelings of worry: will I get enough sleep to make it through the workday tomorrow?

Upon pressing play, a soft, kind voice flooded my ears his purpose was to rationalize my apprehensions and encourage self-compassion.

The narrator prompted a series of questions, which pushed me to address my emotions and thoughts, accept them for what they are, then put them aside.

Since I chose a session focused around resting, I was guided to relax my muscles and mind while setting conscious intentions to compartmentalize any unfinished thoughts or plans. As my racing thoughts subsided, I was able to shift gears toward sleep.

No, the soothing speaker didn't offer me more legroom or swap my armrest-hogging neighbor for a more polite individual, but he empowered me to take control of my mind.

What makes these podcasts so great is that they zone in on common flying fears. No matter what feelings trigger your midflight worries, there is a meditation track that can assist you through the uncomfortable emotions and thoughts that ensue.

My biggest takeaway was to be gentler on myself. It's normal to feel claustrophobic when confined to a small space for hours on end. It's not natural for people to fly, hence my nervousness over any and all turbulence.

Sometimes you need a reminder that what you are feeling is common nature and that managing your thoughts can provide a lot of peace and clarity a message Delta's meditation podcasts ground me to every time I'm 38,000 feet up in the air.

Click here for more health and wellness stories, tips, and news.

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I Tried Delta's On-Demand Meditation Podcasts to Help Ease My Flying Anxiety - POPSUGAR

by Elena Vidrascu, MSc

Preventing Americas Next Drug Epidemic: A Multidisciplinary Approach is a series designed to introduce the many facets of substance abuse, and how integrating the work of multiple partners may be the best approach towards prevention and treatment.

It is estimated that 30-50% of our waking day is spent with our mind wandering. This statistic might elicit disbelief, but consider this: have you ever walked into a room and forgotten a moment later what it is you went there for? Our mind is constantly occupied by internal, self-generated thoughts or external stimuli that capture our attention and shift our focus away from task-relevant stimuli. In a series of studies done several years ago, 65% of men and 25% of women preferred to receive an electrical shock rather than spend 6 to 15 minutes alone in a room with their thoughts.

When the mind is at rest and not engaged in any task, a network of brain regions becomes active, allowing the mind to wander. This default mode network creates a sense of self, a self that can be taken back into the past and into the future. Knowing this, it should not be surprising that this network has been shown to be hyperactive in individuals struggling with major depressive disorder. Many people struggling with depression have difficulty reorienting their attention to anything other than themselves and are constantly projecting themselves into the past. For individuals struggling with anxiety, they are constantly projecting themselves into the future. For individuals struggling with substance use disorder (SUD), it might be a little bit of both. Past trauma that could have precipitated substance use, coupled with the subsequent shame and guilt from the consequences of abusing substances, can incessantly creep into the minds of those with SUD. When an individual is actively in addiction, they are constantly seeking alcohol and/or substance(s) to distract their thoughts and feelings. They project themselves into the future, thinking about where to find their next fix, or how their pain will cease once they use just a little.

To better manage disease, be mindful of when you are experiencing dis-ease.

Mind wandering does not solely occur in those who have diagnosed disorders. The absence of disease does not mean that there is no experience with dis-ease in typical day-to-day life. We are constantly overwhelmed with responsibilities that fall outside of work obligations. Taking care of family, having a social life, exercising, eating healthily, engaging in extracurricular activities, and so on. Too often we hear people say, Oh, I am so happy that tomorrow is Friday! If we are constantly hoping for the week to end, are we really only living for the weekend? We cannot possibly be remembering much of what we do during the week if we are constantly trying to rush through it to get to the weekend. Being more present during the many moments that fill a single day can help us appreciate more of the positive interactions with people at work, become aware of when we need some social interaction to combat our desire to become a recluse, or help us realize when our increased rumination might be signaling the onset of a breakdown. To become more aware of the present moment is where mindfulness comes in.

Although often used interchangeably, mindfulness and meditation are not exactly the same thing. The simple difference is that mindfulness is noticing and being present in whatever you are doing, whereas meditation is more about focusing inward on thoughts and emotions. If sitting with your thoughts for ten minutes is too scary to start with, next time you are eating a meal, eat slowly. Take the time to completely immerse yourself in the experience. Try to smell the food before it hits your tongue, identify the different spices you taste, and feel the texture of the ingredients. This way, you can spend as much time as you want eating that delicious burger, rather than scarf it down in 5 minutes and forget all about it! And if mindfully engaging in an experience like this proves not too difficult, then try a few minutes of mindfulness meditation.

The simple difference is that mindfulness is noticing and being present in whatever you are doing, whereas meditation is more about focusing inward on thoughts and emotions.

Mindfulness meditation has gained increased popularity in the wellness field, with daily meditation showing improvements in attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in meditators. It is a secular practice that can be done anywhere, anytime, with no equipment.

Begin by finding a quiet place, sit on a chair or cross-legged on the floor, and rest your hands on your knees. Close your eyes, take a few slow, deep breaths, and then start to notice your breathing, feeling your body breathe in and breathe out. You will find your mind wandering, and that is okay. Gently return your focus to the rhythm of your breathing.

This is breath meditation, just one of several different forms of meditation. Despite popular belief, the goal of meditation is not to stop the mind from thinking. The goal is to become aware of any thoughts and feelings that arise without judgement, accepting whatever surfaces with equanimity. When we become present with an emotion as it arises, we can then choose whether to give power to it or not. If we are watching as the observer, we are not getting lost in it. By reorienting our attention back to the breath, for example, we are increasing self-control. In fact, previous research has shown success in brief 2-week (5 hours total) MM training in reducing smoking by 60%, with increased activity in brain regions involved in self-control. These results could be at least partly due to decreased stress-reactivity, as was found in another study looking at smoking cessation.

Whether the goal is to improve cognition and well-being, or reduce fatigue, anxiety, depression, pain, or alcohol or drug use, mindfulness meditation has a place in everyones life. It is no different than going to the gym to strengthen our muscles; our brains also need strengthening. If this practice begins at a young age, as is the case for millions of children being positively impacted by Mindful Schools, then life can be filled with less reactivity and more calmness. In an elementary school in Baltimore, Maryland, detention has been substituted for mindfulness meditation and the results are inspiring, with school administrators rarely seeing children anymore for disciplinary issues. Even for adults, it is never too late to start practicing. A recent review looking at workplace-based mindfulness meditation programs concluded that workplace interventions improved psychological indices of stress, partly by reduced cortisol production and sympathetic nervous system reactivity. In a recent blog post on JPHMP Direct by Dr. Jay Maddock, he explores the question of whether workplaces are promoting well-being among employees. Implementing mindfulness meditation may be one strategy towards accomplishing this.

Elena Vidrascu, MSc,recently graduated from Wake Forest University with her MSc in Physiology and Pharmacology. Her primary field of interest is substance abuse, with goals to disseminate information to the public, including addicts and those in recovery, and to influence policy change to push for more integrative approaches towards prevention and treatment. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis, hiking, doing puzzles, and cuddling with her kitten Maple.

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Mindfulness and Dis-Ease: Managing Mental Wellness - JPHMP Direct

With three gentle taps on the singing bowl, meditation leader Eileen Shaw invited the roughly dozen people gathered in the small but open room to close their eyes or lower their gaze downward.

For the next half hour, Shaw invited the participants to be aware of their breath and focus on regaining a sense of balance and equanimity and to becoming grounded in spirit, mind, and body.

Acknowledge what a great gift it would be to bring a peaceful heart into your own life and into the world around you, she said. Let yourself feel this inner sense of balance and ease. Invite the quality of a peaceful and balanced heart to be here with you. Let it fill your body and mind.

The next steps in the group meditation class that Shaw teaches at Healing Tree Yoga in Quincy were an invitation to be silent for 20 minutes and then an invitation to join in a community time.

Shaw, who radiates calm, has been practicing daily meditation for more than 50 years and leading group classes in it for about 35 years.

Meditation is all experiential. Its all about the practice, she said.

Shaw made it clear that she gives participants the guidance they need to still their minds and bodies but only through practice can this become most effective.

To read the rest of this story, subscribe to the Milton Times at miltontimes.com or call 617-696-7758, ext. 101. Print, digital and combination subscriptions are available.

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Meditation with Eileen Shaw: becoming calmer | Local News - Milton Times

Paul Fain Published 6:00 a.m. ET Feb. 20, 2020

What is mindful financial planning? What do terms like mindfulness or being present really mean? Is this column about to go woo-woo into emotions and feelings? Hang with me.

What space does your head typically occupy? The past, the present, or the future? Are you aware of your thoughts? Do you sense your emotions? Heres the deal, if you are more aware (mindful) of your thoughts and feelings you can make better financial decisions.

My head space tends to ricochet between the past (wouldve, shouldve, couldve) and the future (what if?). Honestly, I experience a lot of unnecessary stress by not being present in the moment. I am not unique. Consider personal finance, thinking about past or future money experiences produces strong feelings in people such as fear, anger, jealousy, hopeand excitement. But we need to be careful making present financial decisions in the midst of strong emotions.

Paul Fain

So, how can we improve our financial wellness? Regarding the past, take financial mistakes to heart and then let go of the baggage. We are human. We will occasionally make poor financial choices. Go easier on yourself and move on.

What about the present? Today is a new day. Be aware of your needs, wantsand wishes. Understand what motivates you to spend and save money. Be realistic. Prioritize your financial goals. This is all under your power!

Be more aware: Our minds and bodies have an automatic response to financial situations a gut feeling. In the moment, pay attention to these responses and the messages they can relay. For example, a feeling of unease may be an indicator that you are about to make a financial decision that is against your better judgment.

The unknowable future can cause persistent stress for many people, especially worry about future financial security (or family, or health, or societal issues!). To bring a sense of calm to my anxieties about the future, I am learning the practice of meditation. I am not referring to contorted sitting positions, burning incense, and chanting a mantra. Simply put, meditation is the practice of regularly setting aside five to ten minutes to sit comfortably, to quiet the mind, to relax the body, and to focus on the natural rhythm of breathing. It is paying attention to the thoughts and feelings that emerge during the focused time.

According to a 2018 article in Financial Advisor magazine, Mindfully following the breath trains attentional capacities. Noticing when the mind has wandered from the breath develops the capacity of awareness. Mindfully following the breath inclines the mind-body system to a more centered and balanced state of operations.

From an article at Mindful.org referring to a meditation study, Meditation helps you become less reactive and more responsivethose who regularly meditated every week were less likely to be reactive to failures and setbacks, less likely to dwell on the past.

Kind of like stop, drop, and roll if you are on fire, pause, relax, breathe, be aware is a mindful way to approach your personal finances. Curious to learn more about meditation? Check out the Ten Percent Happier app at http://www.tenpercent.com.

Paul Fain is a Certified Financial Planner and president of Asset Planning Corp., a financial planning and investment management firm based in Knoxville. He welcomes comments and column ideas, but cannot offer specific personal financial advice. Write to him at paul@assetplanningcorp.com.

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