Sitting down for a few moments of ease, with only coffee or tea and the written words of others as companions … one of my favorite things to do. I find solace and refuge in these moments of connection with someone I have never met but come to know through their penned lens of the world. My very favorite are collections of poems … the epitome of grace on the page. This is why the compilation of poetry How To Love: Poems of Gratitude and Hope (edited by James Crews) has been my counterpart these last few weeks as I have made it my practice to reflect on gratitude in a myriad ways.  Crews has gathered this delightfully inspiring collection of works to inspire us to be more mindful of our everyday sources of gratitude and hope, with a broader intention to help us cultivate a deeper and more enduring sense of joy. He asks, in his forward to the collection, “are you happy to be alive?” and invites the reader, through the poems and opportunities for contemplation he calls “reflective pauses,” to tune in to appreciation, hopefulness and connection, all with the above end in mind. From the author:   “During these uncertain and trying times, we tell ourselves that joy is an indulgence we can no longer afford. And we’ve become all too familiar with the despair filling the airwaves and crowding our social media feeds, leading to what psychologists now call empathy or compassion fatigue, whereby we grow numb and disconnected from the suffering of others. We want to stay informed about what’s going on in the world, yet we also know that absorbing so much negativity leaves us drained and hopeless. We know it’s robbing us of the ability to be present to our own experience and grateful for something as simple as the moon, which is here, as Lahab Assef Al-Jundi points out, ‘to illuminate our illusion’ of separateness from one another.” I am so grateful for my love of reading, and from this love has blossomed a love of writing too … my own journey of finding my voice through the written word. This is why I invite all of you to bring forth your inner poets! For your practice this week, maybe take some “soul time” (like Crews himself does on the daily) to reflect on what you are grateful for in your life, or on some source of hope or joy, and see if you can string together some words — poetry or prose will do (see below for mine!). Have a holiday week full of moments you will cherish, and be sure to take the time to notice and please share your words of gratitude with us at Sangha or on Facebook.   I Remember The whistles and cheers of the game on TV as I busy myself with Sunday afternoon chores take me back to the Friday night lights of 16 … Neon dreams and hope for lasting first love … Moments of youth ticking by like the clock on the  final quarter of the only almost-victory of the season. Loves lost, dreams still came true.  With so much Metta —  Nikki and the Sacred Treehouse faculty

Where have you been today? What did you bring with you … the momentary connections made and snapshot glimpses of wonder, of humanity, of the divine? And what love or compassion or gentle kiss of kindness did you leave behind?  Each fully embraced instant, each point in time brushed with the light of awareness, can be an opportunity for gratitude. The fleeting glances shared by strangers in moments of togetherness, or longer lingering connections between loved ones over a meal or car ride to anywhere. Taking in the extraordinary ordinariness of places we frequent, like the local market or coffee shop or bus stop, or the wonder that comes with experiencing something new. With mindfulness, all of these experiences make us who we are … they fine tune our view of the world and of ourselves in it … and are opportunities for appreciation and awe.  It is in these spaces and places, our everyday wheres, if we take the time to harvest gratitude and appreciation, we can use our mindfulness practice to cultivate joy. At the gas station — nodding a good morning to the stranger on the other side of the pump, grateful for the return nod and moment of connection. At the doctors office — sending thoughts of thanks to the staff for their help. In traffic, wishing patience and safety to your fellow travelers, grateful to know they they too are heading somewhere that matters to them.  Where are you now? Can you take a moment to tune into the fullness of now, noticing each of the qualities of the present with your full undivided attention? The sights and smells, yes, but the felt sense of presence too … how does it feel to be right where you are? How can you take the pieces of this moment that you are grateful for with you to savor, and how can you leave something of love and appreciation behind? Bus Stop — by Laure-Anne Bosselaar Stubborn sleet. Traffic stuck on Sixth. We cram the shelter, soaked, strain to see the bus, except for a man next to me, dialing his cell-phone. He hunches, pulls his parka’s collar over it, talks slow and low: It’s daddy, hon. You do? Me too. Ask mom if I can come see you now. Oh, okay,  Sunday then. Bye. Me too baby. Me too. He snaps the phone shut, cradles it to his cheek, holds it there. Dusk stains the sleet, minutes slush by. When we board the bus, that phone is still pressed to his cheek.With gratitude, Nikki

It is that time of year again! A time when we are encouraged to reflect on our gifts … to contemplate on our lives — past, present and future — through the lens of thankfulness, appreciation, and gratitude. Taking stock of the good in our lives, even that goodness that has been ushered in on the arm of difficulty or pain. All the moments just as they are … and finding appreciation for the richness of this wild life.  I have had a gratitude practice for a long time. It isn’t anything formal anymore … no gratitude journaling or lists or daily reflections, though I maintained those types of practices consistently for a good while in the beginning. It has evolved into more of a way that I see the world … some may call it making meaning, and others may say what I do is less about gratitude and more about a general attitude of acceptance or surrender. Whatever we want to call it, I know that this lens of gratitude colors everything I do, and it has brought with it many moments of joy and abundance.  That’s what happens when we practice gratitude, you know. Things matter more, in a good way. And in a weird way they matter less in a good way, too. Like my gratitude for the mini-sized peanut butter cup that my daughter left on the counter for me post-Halloween … one small savored bite of pure joy and a feeling of being loved that made an enormous difference in an otherwise stressful day … a feeling that dwarfed the rest of the difficulties I faced that day and in some way made them all worth it. It mattered … I mattered … gratitude matters.  So what does my gratitude practice actually look like? Like with the special sweet treat from my kiddo, it starts with noticing something ordinary … anything really … a conversation, an event, even something that is always there that you don’t often pay mind to (like that tree in your yard or the friendly cashier at your local market). And of course the next and most critical step is the sacred pause — it’s where I stop and notice the gifts of that moment, the feeling of connection or the reminder I am loved, and giving those gifts my full intentional attention. This requires some perspective taking — like an acknowledgment or awareness of the specialness of the experience in context. And then I usually smile, and I savor the physical sensations of gratitude for several seconds before letting the moment go.  This month let’s make our intention be to practice this mindful awareness of the gifts in our lives — to bring this purposeful attention to moments of gratitude in real time. I invite you all to don this lens of appreciation and gratitude throughout your days, even share with us on social media or email, and see what you notice!

This month I have talked about intuition and living authentically, which are intertwined and evolve together. However before fully living intuitively and authentically you need to develop self-trust. Trust between body, mind, and soul is what I believe is one of the building blocks to living your most aligned life (second building block is mindfulness). I think self-trust is something we can all benefit from strengthening right now amidst uncertain times. If you have felt powerless, like you have no control over what’s happening in the world, I encourage you to redirect your focus from the external → to the internal. Focus on what you can control and thus begin to build trust from within. Self-trust is like faith, you can tune into this inner trust at any point in life and understand that “I am doing the best I can” “Everything is happening for me, not to me” “I am in control of how I choose to respond”. If you enjoy mantras or affirmations you may want to use one of those or create your own to remind yourself that even through painful and overwhelming challenges arise, you can experience growth or healing if you so choose. Internal trust is necessary to take those intuitive leaps of faith..perhaps.to start the project you’ve been pushing off, to commit to prioritizing your health, to shine your light authentically in life and not care what others think of you. At the beginning of the month I shared my go-to way to start developing internal trust: mindful eating! I picked out a special podcast for you to listen to this week that dives deeper into what self-trust means, what it looks like, what it can help us with, and what it can lead to and so much more! Give it a listen and let me know what you think by emailing me @ [email protected]Listen to podcast here: https://untameyourself.com/podcasts/ep-342/ Listen on SpotifyWith Love and Gratitude,   Lizzie Shutt   Need support in overcoming obstacles? Just email me us at [email protected] to set up individualized mindfulness coaching or join our upcoming classes of MBSR or MSC for guided practices in a supportive community. Go to www.sacredtreehouse.org

Michiko, SCGP Director (left) with Rachel, SCGP Manager (right) This month’s special guest is Michiko Kurisu. She is an artist and gardener based in Delray Beach, Florida. In 2008 she founded the Swinton Community Garden with her friend, Betsy Pickup and has directed it ever since! The garden has evolved into a permaculture-based food forest in the heart of the city, providing a green sanctuary, education, and opportunities for people of all ages to engage with nature. Michiko has also worked with her father in a family-run Japanese garden design and build firm, Kurisu LLC, for over 20 years.

In the interview with Michiko she shared about the transformations that occurred in the Swinton Community Garden over the years, from garden boxes to a food forest / nature sanctuary. She originally had no intention for the project to become what it is today! Originally she was looking for land to start growing her own food, this was during the 2008 economic downturn, which sparked desire for many community members to also grow their own food and connect with nature so the community garden was born!  Over the pandemic a similar situation occurred. Michiko and Rachel (Garden Manager) thought it’s the middle of summer nobody is going to come out and volunteer, however people of all ages showed up to help, learn, find peace, and connect with the local community. In the interview she shares about what life lessons and wisdom she has observed through working in the garden, as well as, observing others.

I asked her “What wisdom would Nature like to share with our modern society?” She said “nothing”. Rather than Nature giving us more she shared we need to LISTEN to what’s already all around us, and I couldn’t agree more! Nature is filled with wisdom already, but it requires us to bring mindful attention to the present moment to observe, be curious, and open to listening.  You can listen to the recording HERE.  Check out Swinton Community Garden on Instagram @swintoncgp for event updates and how to get involved!!  With Love and Gratitude,   Lizzie Shutt

“How about the weather today, Tim?” 

“Yea it’s feeling like fall is finally here.

This classic small talk conversation starter might be more helpful to our health than we think! Fall has arrived in some places more drastic than others. You may have noticed cooler mornings and evenings, maybe more wind in the air, a change in the tree’s leaves or local vegetation, potentially new birds arriving or leaving as they migrate. Nature is always changing, and when we can surrender to the flow of seasonal changes we can thrive right along with Nature. The seasonal weather change can be a signal to aid in letting us know what our bodies and minds may need  to feel our best is also changing a bit at this time of year.

In today’s blog I want to share with you ways to harmonize with your body’s needs and nature’s changing rhythm. Your body is intelligent and will communicate its needs to you, yet listening and understanding requires you to bring mindful awareness to your body daily. I believe mealtimes are a great time to check in with our body to see what it needs that day. 

The best way to harmonize your meals with nature’s rhythm is by eating locally grown foods. Nature provides what your body needs in that season. Can you think of some classic fall foods?

You are probably thinking…

• Sweet Potato / Yams
• Root Veggies (Carrots, Turnips, Beets)
• Greens (Broccoli, Kale, Swiss Chard, Collards)
• Squashes (Zucchini, Butternut, Pumpkin, Acron, Kabocha, Spaghetti)
• Spices like cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, coriander
• Fruits like apple, pear, figs

And guess what, there’s a reason these foods are placed in the fall season for humans to enjoy! These foods have grounding and warming qualities, which is what the body needs as it transitions from hot summer temperatures to cool winter weather. I have learned a lot about this topic through the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda. 

Our ancestors lived life very in touch with nature not only for their food source,  but also for clothes,  shelter, and navigation. They had to surrender and align themselves with what nature provided them within each season. That is how bodies have evolved and by returning to a seasonal diet you may experience great mental and physical health benefits. I suggest shopping at your local farmers market to make choosing in-season produce easy! Shopping locally not only helps your health, but also the planet because transport emissions are reduced since your food doesn’t come from a farm thousands of miles away. Instead you are investing back into your local environment and community so this is a wonderful reciprocal way to give and get at the same time. 

Before you begin preparing your seasonal meal I encourage you to tune into the moment with three deep breaths. Then you can have a conversation with your body. You may ask…

• On a scale of 0-5 how hungry am I right now?
• What does my body need right now, is it food, or could I be needing rest, play, comfort or love? 
• Does my body need something warm or cool? (warm/cooked is suggested for better digestion in cool months)
• Are there specific tastes or textures that would satisfy my body right now?

It is important to note that communicating with your body requires repeated practice using mindful self-awareness to develop a trust between your body, mind, and food so that you can best meet your needs in the moment. I think eating foods in season is a safe way to start nourishing your body and reconnecting you to nature (you are a part of nature)!

Once your meal is prepared I encourage you to listen to this brief mindful eating meditation. Tuning into your food and how it feels in your body is a key component to building that trust and communication between your body, mind, heart, and environemnt. 

With Joy and Gratitude,

Lizzie Shutt 
@lizzie_shutt 

Lizzie’s 4 month group coaching program Aligned Life Academy is now open for enrollment. This program is designed  for you to cultivate daily mindfulness and design your dream life! Learn more here!!
 
Need support in overcoming obstacles? Just email me us at [email protected] to set up individualized mindfulness coaching or join our upcoming classes of MBSR or MSC for guided practices in a supportive community.
Go to www.sacredtreehouse.org

Sweet Potato, Lentil, Veggie Soup with Kitchari (Ayurvedic cleansing dish made from rice and mung dal beans).

Sweet Potato Lentil Soup Recipe:

1 Large Sweet Potato

1 Cup of Brown Lentils

2 Medium-sized Organic Carrots

2 Large Celery Stalks

2 Cups of Veggie Broth

4 Cups of Water

1 Inch of Fresh Ginger (I like to use a good amount)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil (coconut oil, ghee work too)

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Cardamom

1 tsp Garam Masala

1 tsp Turmeric

½ tsp Coriander

¼ tsp Black pepper + a little Salt

Optional: Kale or leafy green, 

Optional Toppings: Lemon squeeze, Cilantro, Sunflower seeds, Avocado

**Soak the lentils in water for at least 3 hours prior to cooking**

Wash and chop the potatoes, celery, carrots, ginger. I personally cube the potato and thinly slice the carrots. For the ginger remove the skin and then dice into pieces, it’s okay if they are not very small. 

In a large pot on medium high heat add your olive oil, spices, and ginger. Let these heat and mix together for about 2 minutes. Then add the cubed potatoes, and coat the potatoes with the spices by thoroughly mixing them around. 

Next add in everything else: carrots, celery, lentils. Add the 2 cups of vegetable broth and then pour enough water so that it covers everything by half an inch. 

Bring the stew to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to low-medium heat with the lid still on. Honestly mine was boiling for a while. It took a bit to reduce the temperature; that is ok because you will test everything at the end to ensure it’s all cooked before serving. 

Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir every few minutes. Halfway through you can try the broth and adjust seasonings as necessary, I will encourage you to hold off on the salt until the end. 

After 15 minutes you may try poking the potatoes and carrots to judge if they are cooked. They should be very easy to stab. Taste your lentils as well to ensure they are soft. 

If you choose to add kale or another leafy green chop it up and stir it into the pot. Allow it to cook for another five minutes.

Plate this dish with cilantro or lemon. I added some leftover kitchari (Ayurvedic dish made from rice and mung dal beans) on the side so if you are feeling you want some more substance you may add rice or quinoa to the dish as well. 

As humans who are part of the natural world, I believe we can know exactly what our needs are and can be resourceful in getting them met. When you observe a bird going about its day – singing in the morning, eating worms in the lawn, playing tag with its friends, and ending the day sleeping in a tree – there is no one telling that bird what to do, it simply knows. We are no different than that bird; some would say we are more intelligent, but I argue our so-called intelligence has often made us more disconnected from our inner signals than that bird. I do believe there is a way to reconnect and live in alignment with your truth in a 21st century modern world – it’s called Intuitive Living. 

Intuition is becoming more of a buzzword nowadays, yet cultivating intuition and using your intuition to guide your life sounds somewhat elusive. Oxford Dictionary defines intuition as “one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning”. Many times people will describe intuition as a gut feeling or their heart knowing the answer. This can still make it unapproachable for people who question “is this the right feeling?”,  “am I doing this right?”  or if they struggle to connect their life experiences with feelings in their body. 

If you like the sound of developing your connection to this inner-knowing that can aid in guiding us on life’s questions – whether big or small – one way is starting with practicing mindfulness in your daily life. 

Mindfulness is a foundational skill  to connect with your intuition. I teach my clients how to connect with their body and mind through mindfulness practices and mindful check-ins. Mindfulness in daily life opens your eyes to see life in a fresh way, to potentially notice things you never saw before or to look at the same things with a newfound understanding, appreciation, and/or beauty. 

My clients and I have found developing mindfulness around our meals to be super beneficial and accessible because it is already part of daily life. There are simply just a few tweaks that turn a meal into a mindful meal: 

1) By approaching the meal with intention to be fully present.

2) Bring one pointed attention– choose a sense to focus on like taste, smell, or the texture of each bite.

3) Use nonjudgmental observation by noting – Just The Facts! 

So guess what? You don’t even have to sit and meditate everyday to start a mindfulness practice. This month here on Sacred Treehouse blog I will share a recording on an intuitive eating process you can use to begin your meal! 

Sacred Treehouse has lots of other wonderful blogs on how to start incorporating mindfulness in daily life so check out these if you want to read more about practices:

Link to some blogs!

The basis of intuitive living -as I am describing this month  – is living in alignment with your body, mind, and soul’s needs – and it grows by intentionally  paying attention to your daily patterns. This “pattern recognition skill” is mindfulness in action! By using non-judgemental observation of what you do / say / think / feel- on a daily basis you will begin to recognize your patterns.  From there, you can decide if these patterns support your true authentic self or if they distract you from being the best version of you! 

This is just a taste into intuitive living. I am excited to share some insights and practices this month in the weekly blog as we continue towards a deeper dive into this topic! OFFERING TO GET YOU STARTED:

FREE RITUALS FOR SUCCESS CHALLENGE 

I am hosting a live challenge starting TOMORROW Monday Oct 4th 5:30 EST that runs every day this week, same time till Friday Oct 8th. If you are trying to implement a self care or mindfulness practice and are struggling to make it actually stick, you should join me!! It will give you the foundational understanding and tools to create a ritual that suits your needs right now and sets you up for living an aligned life! Attend all sessions or watch the recording replay to start your self-care plan. Only those who participate in live or recorded sessions will be entered to win. The calls are one hour on Zoom each day and the recordings will be available in the private Facebook group so be sure to join here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/4300925046696726/

The winner will receive goodies to have a successful Sunday planning session for their week ahead (join the group to see what you could win or find out on instagram @lizzie_shutt).

Hope to see you on one of the calls this week

 Lizzie and The Sacred Treehouse Faculty

The final offering this month within the theme of bringing mindfulness to work is our interview with Lisa Shaheen, Certified HeartMath facilitator and holistic coach. I have known Lisa for over 15 years, as our children attended primary school together and were both introduced and practiced Heart Math in school each day. At the time, I was in love with Heart Math and felt blessed that my children received this training and practice in daily life. 

Lisa was also in love with Heart Math and went on to train and become a facilitator. For the past several years Lisa has been offering Heart Math training for our clients at Therapeutic Oasis and our students at Sacred Treehouse to help bring balance in mind and body. 

This month the Therapeutic Oasis (my full-time place of work) will be offering staff and providers The Resilience Advantage: A Heart Math training for executives and employees as a way to reduce stress, increase creativity, and create balance. We are a company that is committed to practicing what we teach and fostering a work environment that brings the values of the company alive each day. 

The Resilience Advantage Benefits include:

• Increased situational awareness in relationships, meetings, and projects
• Enhanced ability to focus, process information, and solve problems
• Heightened creativity and innovation
• Increased ability to handle challenging clients and situations
• Increased access to intuition for fast, effective decision-making on complex issues
• Increased regenerative sleep
• Increased vitality and resilience
• Reduced stress, worry, and fatigue

Sacred Treehouse will also be offering this training virtually to anyone interested to incorporate into your workday or bring to your team in October….Sign up Here. 


Now for the interview with Lisa Shaheen, Certified HeartMath Trainer, colleague, and friend. LISTEN HERE

With love and gratitude to Lisa and all beings,

Patty and the Sacred Treehouse faculty

They say when the student is ready, the teacher appears, and I am most certainly ready and willing to wake up at work. Those close to me know I am a book-a-holic and I purchased AWAKE AT WORK over a year ago, perhaps I was awakening to my need to wake up at work. Truth be told, I deeply desire to be awake in all aspects of daily living: at home, at work, in relationships, and at play. 
 
Work has always been an important part of my life and I place a high value on doing my best and making right living a top priority. No doubt this is why I am where I am today, owner of the Sacred Treehouse and co-owner of the Therapeutic Oasis. Both are committed to compassionate care and inspiring others to live according to their values. 
 
If you have interest in applying mindfulness to YOUR work, whether in a role you serve in a job or career, or one you serve at home, then I highly recommend this book as a guide to waking up to the truth and reality of life, living, and being human in our many roles. I must say it is not for everyone- but if you have a daily meditation practice and are motivated to contemplate on a slogan each day, or week, or even once a month- I believe it can be a tool to serve in awakening in a role that many of us spend a bulk of our waking hours doing for the better part of our life. 
 
Author Michael Carrol sets out teaching four primary slogans that are the basis of the practice of awakening at work and can b practiced and fruitful in and of themselves. 
 
What is a slogan? How can it help?
 
The thirty-five slogans shared by the author are adapted from the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Logong, where practitioners memorize, recite, and place reminders to allow daily events to evoke the wisdom form these slogans to be used as guidance in living more mindfully. Slogans are not instructions, but rather inspiration and an invitation to strengthen our mindfulness practice and remain open and curious to the many ways we resist reality at work and prompt us to see ourselves and our situation more clearly. 
 
There are four main slogans that are as follows:
 

1. Balance the two efforts
2. Be authentic
3. Cultivate li(natural goodness).
4. Work is a mess.

 
He then continues offering additional slogans to choose at your leisure to practice regularly, even choosing randomly, to look for ways at work it applies to you. Keeping a journal, making notecards, and even memorizing all the slogans and reciting them are ways to allow the slogans to come to you in daily life. 
 
I found the book to be a gift, at a time that I needed inspiration to dive inward at work and bring greater wisdom, compassion, and love to all those I serve and in all that I do.  

 
With Love and Gratitude,
 
Patty and The Sacred Treehouse Faculty
 
Need support in overcoming obstacles? Just email me us at [email protected] to set up individualized mindfulness coaching or join our upcoming classes of MBSR or MSC for guided practices in a supportive community.

 Work is often spoken like a four letter word, as if it implies something bad, difficult, or even something one would be wise to avoid. For years I have marveled at people’s reactions to “working” and wondered how that kind of belief or interpretation was developed or conditioned.

Perhaps it is because our culture displays such a positive image of wealthy, famous people at leisure, or from the abuses suffered by so many factories or farm workers, or maybe both and even more ways I have yet to consider. Additionally, as a psychologist I understand so many people suffer with psychological limitations that get in the way of their desire or ability to work, and for that I am even more sad-yet motivated to assist in helping, inspiring others in overcoming the obstacles that impede them. 
 
Whether you have a positive relationship with work or not, there are always challenges that arise both within the individual, the environment, or the task or job itself. This week I want to offer some things to explore at work that have been incredibly helpful to me recently in examining my many “work” roles.

As the image above reads, “You cannot spell CHAlleNGE without CHANGE and this is both very true and WISE. So, an invitation to look at ways you may be experiencing a challenge at work, in work, or in a project or role. Beware, or BE AWARE that as you examine the challenge you may see the opportunity or the need for CHANGE.
 
Some challenges at work that may show up WITHIN us,
 

1. Resistance to starting or doing something
2. Lack of desire or motivation
3. Lack of clarity or direction
4. Lack of skill or ability and training
5. Internal conflicts
6. Emotions like fear, anger, and shame

Some challenges that may show up in the environment or situation,

1. Lack of resources or reinforcement
2. Lack of support
3. Lack of time or too many demands
4. Lack of clarity
5. Conflicts with others
6. Conflicts with objectives

 
This is by no means an exhaustive list, yet a place to simply start and examine any challenges you have at work, with your work, or in any of your projects that require sustained effort. Just pick one fo this exercise!
 
My personal example of “challenge” right now is a conflict with others, so applying mindfulness and bringing the attitudes of mindful living (listed in last weeks blog) has been a helpful way to examine the conflicts I am having at work, An important part of this process is shining the light within to BE AWARE. So, grab a journal or some paper/ tablet, then write out your challenge and begin this inquiry:
 
Step 1 What am I Believing? Thinking? Assuming? 
 
Step 2 What am I Saying? Doing? Feeling? Or NOT Saying?
 
Step 3 What is the problem I perceive? The threat? The danger? The goal?
 
Step 4 Dig deeper and do the work to explore all the branches that stem from the stated challenge. Take your time and resist jumping to problem solving, fixing, or avoiding. Stay with it and keep exploring with mindfulness, curiosity, and openness.
 
Step 5 Ask yourself, “What do I need to change?”  because not only can we not spell challenge without change, we also cannot overcome it without (INTERNAL) change.
 
Some, not all, the possibilities of things that I can change WITHIN include my attitude, perspective, emotions, behaviors, and even my goal. Thanks to mindfulness I am slowing down and changing my goal. I am choosing to get curious, both within myself and with others, as I approach the challenge that is before me. 
 
I hope this simple, yet powerful approach is as helpful to you as it has been for me, and I would love to hear feedback as you apply any or all of this to your challenges in everyday work/life. Email me at  [email protected] or join our Facebook group (above) and post your challenges, successes, and struggles in our private group. 

If you want to deepen your mindfulness practice and cultivate the attitudes for daily life, consider joining the next MBSR class starting soon or stay tuned as we continue this month on ways to bring mindfulness to work.
 
May you find peace and meaning in all you do,
 
With Love and Gratitude,
 
Patty and The Sacred Treehouse Faculty
 
Need support in overcoming obstacles? Just email me us at [email protected] to set up individualized mindfulness coaching or join our upcoming classes of MBSR or MSC for guided practices in a supportive community.