Mindfulness Garden Games
by Joann Calabrese
author of Growing Mindful

Single-minded Focus of Squirrels

  A blur of fur, a large fluffy tail, and a red ribbon trailing behind was moving quickly along my fence. It took me a moment to understand what I was seeing. A squirrel had pilfered one of the pine cone bird feeders we made at Solstice. Coated in peanut butter and rolled in bird … Read more

Strategizing for Mindfulness – Four Simple Steps

Creating a Strategy Having a strategy for mindfulness practice is as important as a technique. Many of the participants in the Mindfulness 101 class that I teach at the Colorado Mental Wellness Network already know about meditation and mindfulness.  Many have practiced sporadically. Their challenge is not that they don’t know some basic meditation techniques, … Read more

The Wellness Recovery Action Plan® (WRAP®)

Wellness Recovery Action Plans  It’s impossible to be on the planet for any length of time and not have health or life challenges of one sort or another. It’s a tough planet.  And that is what makes the Wellness Recovery Action Plan® (WRAP®) a valuable tool for everyone. I completed my  WRAP® Facilitator training just … Read more

Listening as Mindfulness Practice

Listening & Hearing are Not the Same Thing Hearing is a sensory experience – waves of energy flowing over our eardrums and lighting up our brains. Listening involves some action on our part as we try to decode the incoming message. Mindful listening is deep attentiveness to the moment by moment unfolding of energy and … Read more

Creating a Pattern Language of Wellness and Sustainability

. Pattern Language Expands Possibilities  What do forest gardens and peer run recovery centers have in common? • Both are innovative ideas • Both are phrases that help us envision new patterns and possibilities As I expand on each one and you’ll see the connections. On forest gardens Forest gardens are also known as food … Read more

Finding our Lost Pieces

  Recovery is the practice of finding and claiming the lost pieces of ourselves.[1] I love this definition because, even though recovery is often seen as belonging to mental health or addiction issues, this statement applies to everyone.  Seriously, do you know anyone who hasn’t lost parts of themselves as they have moved through life?   … Read more

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