Mindfulness Garden Games
by Joann Calabrese
author of Growing Mindful

Practicing Deep Magic

Having grown up reading Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and other fantasy books, I’ve been  immersed in the concept of deep magic.  Most everyone knows the stories…the ring to rule them all was forged by deep magic, the stone table on which Aslan was sacrificed was built with deep magic. The magic that created these things always … Read more

Connectedness as Mindfulness Practice

pumpkin flower - connected

“We are all connected; to each other biologically; to the earth chemically; and to the universe atomically.”  That’s from Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, author and Director of the Hayden Planetarium in NYC. His explanation is simple and to the point. It might be easy to miss how profound the idea is. For much of human … 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

It’s Not Really a Journey

Spiritual Practice A path, a journey, a long climb to the top of the mountain….all are analogies for spiritual practice. The implication is that we are trying to get somewhere. We start HERE and we get THERE, wherever THERE is. We are moving on a path toward enlightenment, or at the very least a reduction … 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

For Beverly – Planting Seeds of Joy

    Last year on March 18th, my good friend Beverly passed away. It was shocking and disorienting as Beverly seemed unstoppable to me. Even though she’d been born with a serious physical disability, she didn’t let that slow her down. She used a motorized wheel chair and you really needed to stay out of … Read more

Winter Mandalas

Creating Winter Mandalas  This moment and this moment and this next moment….that’s what we have. These moments make up our lives. And yet we seem to be wired to be anywhere but in this present moment. Certainly more than at any time in our history, the information on meditation and mindfulness is readily available. But … 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

On Winter Solstice

The celestial tipping point that is winter solstice happens on Saturday, December 21st (2013) at exactly 10:11 AM Mountain Time. (See other time zones below.) As our home planet journeys around the sun, it tilts on its axis so that those of us living north of the equator are leaning away from the sun. It … Read more