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You are here: Home / 2013 / Archives for December 2013

Archives for December 2013

Lynda Murtha PhotoArt

December 10, 2013 By JudySteed

capecod-fenceThe beautiful images on this site are copyright Lynda Murtha PhotoArt. Lynda did not take the pictures of Jill Bolte Taylor or Rick Hanson…just the gorgeous ones of butterflies and landscapes…Her work illuminates mindfulness. She is so powerfully “in the moment” when she take pictures that she seems attuned to nature and reality at an exquisite depth — which is what happens to us when we sit still, fully alive in the present moment, meditating. In other words, there are many ways to be present. Find yours.

This particular photograph of a beach fence on Cape Cod is highly evocative for me — a textured pathway leading to the sea, an image that resonates deep inside, a feeling of opening up, going forward, touching the mystery of life itself. With every  fresh moment, we go forward, into the unknown. In my guided practice, we focus on this experience….recognizing that the true goal is to live our lives being open as we move forward, paying attention, relaxing into the present, fully alive.

Here’s what Lynda has to say about her process: “It is simple. I pick up my camera and head outdoors.  Within a short time it is as if I take off my shoes as a sign of deep respect and enter, barefoot and humble, into a sacred place.  I am enveloped.  I am at one with Nature herself.

 I am fully in the moment. I have come with trust, openness to receive what I am going to find there, and expectation.  I am in tune with what is happening around me, whether it is the gentle sway and rustle of beach grass or a butterfly that has come to whisper the secret place where she has laid her eggs.  These moments are life’s gifts.
I wait for the wonder.  Do you know that dragon flies will dive bomb you to get your attention?  And that if you stay in that place, they will stop and reveal themselves?
The wonder is in knowing we are there to commune.  To simply be.  Together.
I never rush.  In this place time does not exist although I have a deep awareness that I have been given the gift of both timing and patience.  Excitement, peace and a trust that assures me there is something extraordinary about to happen surround me.  Nature does not disappoint.
Namaste.  As I leave, my practice ends with a simple Namaste, a thank-you for what I have seen.  I close the door and promise with a smile to visit again soon. “

 

A beautiful day….

December 9, 2013 By JudySteed

boat-on-oceanOne day last week, my “home group” met at my house as usual — once a week for the past three years — and we all felt the power of our coming together, our collective concentration in the moment.  We spend an hour together; after doing my guided practice, we share our feelings about that day’s session, talking about the different ways we interact with the journey.

Then I had to rush off to the Jewish Family and Child building on Madison Ave. near Bloor and Spadina, where I’d been invited to lead a session for a group of women. We enjoyed lunch — lox and bagels and cream cheese — then settled into our chairs, closed our eyes and….travelled up to the right brain oasis, crossed the rushing river to the right brain forest, rested in the mossy clearing….and after, when we shared our experiences, I was amazed by the women’s ability to see images and colour. The ease with which they “fell” into the space and followed my voice amazed me. They were energized by their journey and wanted to do it again. Me too!

The Brain That Changes Itself

December 7, 2013 By JudySteed

THE NEW YORK TIMES, about The Brain That Changes Itself:

“The power of positive thinking finally gains scientific credibility. Mind-bending, miracle-making, reality-busting stuff…with implications for all human beings, not to mention human culture, human learning and human history.”

Toronto psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge is the author of one of the most important — and best selling — books about brain plasticity. His research for The Brain that Changes Itself took him to “the frontiers of brain science,” to “the revolutionary discovery that the human brain can change itself…” Continue Reading

Mindfulness and Guided Practice

December 4, 2013 By JudySteed

judy-meditationThree books by brain scientists are at the core of my approach to mindfulness and guided practice:  Norman Doidge’s THE BRAIN THAT CHANGES ITSELF: STORIES OF PERSONAL TRIUMPH FROM THE FRONTIERS OF BRAIN SCIENCE, Jill Bolte Taylor’s, MY STROKE OF INSIGHT, and Rick Hanson’s BUDDHA’S BRAIN: THE PRACTICAL NEUROSCIENCE OF HAPPINESS, LOVE AND WISDOM.

(Photo: that is me after a yoga class at the Sivananda Yoga Ashram on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.)
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Jill Bolte Taylor – MY STROKE OF INSIGHT

December 4, 2013 By JudySteed

MarshFor me, Jill Bolte Taylor’s book — and her TED talk — offered the clearest picture of how the mind works. As a brain scientist, she had a stroke in her left brain — hence the title, MY STROKE OF INSIGHT —  and understood what was happening to her.

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About Judy


Award-winning author & journalist (Globe & Mail, Toronto Star), recipient of the Atkinson Fellowship for BOOMER TSUNAMI, her series on aging, demographics and brain plasticity, Judy Steed shares new skills & techniques to enhance memory, reduce stress, practice mindfulness & find inner peace & contentment. WHAT WE THINK AND HOW WE THINK ACTUALLY CHANGES THE STRUCTURE OF THE BRAIN.
Jill Bolte Taylor’s TED Talk

Jill Bolte Taylor’s TED Talk

This Jill Bolte Taylor's TED Talk about why she … [Read More...]

JILL BOLTE TAYLOR’S  STROKE OF INSIGHT INTERVIEW

JILL BOLTE TAYLOR’S STROKE OF INSIGHT INTERVIEW

The clearest description of how the brain … [Read More...]

Stress Proof Your Brain with Dr Rick Hanson

Stress Proof Your Brain with Dr Rick Hanson

Rick Hanson is the author of the New York Times … [Read More...]

Boomer Tsunami

Boomer Tsunami

HERE’S the link or pdf for BOOMER TSUNAMI, as … [Read More...]

Mindfulness and Guided Practice

Mindfulness and Guided Practice

Three books by brain scientists are at the core of … [Read More...]

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