Unemployment is not simply a minor inconvenience or a passing phase. Recognizing unemployment as a health factor -- both for mental and physical health -- and providing the services to help people cope can have long-lasting preventative effects.
We don't yet know what big challenge Hillary Clinton will take on next, but that she will bring her considerable talents to something big and worthwhile is not in question. Whether or not that challenge is trying to become the first woman president, she's in a unique position to help redefine success by using her experience to address the issue of stress in the workplace. Lack of sleep, overwork, and burnout are defining features of America's business and political culture. Hillary Clinton is in a singular position to change this. As she said in November, "I would like to see whether I can get untired." And maybe I'm dreaming, but the world needs Hillary not only to get herself "untired," but in the next chapter of her life to become a role model for the idea that one can both be untired and successful. If so, there's no ceiling on what she could accomplish for women -- and yes, for men too.
Breathing in a way that promotes stress reduction takes practice and attention, two things we often have in short supply. Ironically, we are often too busy to focus on breathing well.
I'd been thinking about a change for years, but it all came to a head when my position was eliminated at work.
In silence, our world opens to this goldenness, what is life giving and true. A silent retreat is free time where simple being and inner stillness conspire to light up our minds with the light of our soul.
Aside from all that talking in an interview, there's the matter of the rest of you. The interviewer will definitely have some strong reactions to things she doesn't want to have to see, smell or deal with in the office every day.
"Where has the time gone?" "There aren't enough hours in the day." These are statements that we struggle with daily. We are so caught up in achieving that we forget to savor, breathe and recognize the present moment.
For those who own one, a car is probably the most important possession you have after a home. You come to depend on it, like something that'll be ther...
Even though I live and preach this stuff, I am stunned by the difference a few moments of breathing and movement can make in my comportment and mood.
Is good sleep a simple matter of length, the longer the better? If you've ever needed a nap after sleeping too much, you know it isn't that simple. Let's examine the problem through an easier question to answer: what is bad sleep?
Let's stop thinking about rest as the opposite of effort and start thinking about it as the foundation of effort. What can you do to build in a little more relaxation or pleasure, to draw you out of the moments that wind you up and leave you so tight you feel like you might snap?
If you decompress, you become more efficient and less anxious, and you sleep better. Slowly integrating other healthy lifestyle choices such as exercise and good diet can help you rid yourself of the need for the high-performance cocktail.
All life is stressful, and academic life is no exception. The wise professor is one who tries to relieve some of that stress, or at the very least, not to make it worse.
What happened to driving in a car and just looking out the window? Your kids are giving up the entire physical world for this narcissistic/sychophantic/addictive need to follow someone or see who's following them.
Coming into silence with a busy mind is like leaving the fast, crowded highway, pulling into a small fishing village with one dock, one store, and the water slowly lapping at the sea shore. We jump out of the car excited to find such a place, and then what?
At the end of the digital day, understand that we live in a busy world that operates 24/7. Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and go to sleep. You might feel better about it in the morning.
Meditation does not have to be difficult. We are changing the habit of constantly thinking. We are changing our pattern of carrying the details and challenges of daily life all the time within us. Meditation can teach us to let go of our busy mind and be in our heart.
If used mindfully, the calendar is a wonderful tool with which you can measure your year before living it -- intentionally pacing yourself with a rhythm that suits and honors your life spiritually, mentally and physically.
We are experiencing stress in epidemic proportions. In fact, stress is the new fat. Like obesity, it's hitting more and more people and at younger and younger ages. And like obesity it's insidious -- stress is so much a part of our lives that we don't notice it anymore.
Although few of us are graced with the chance to have a sabbatical, most of us could greatly benefit from the opportunity to have more space and time in life so that slowing down could be an option.
