Mindful Mondays #1: Spooky Edition
Hello, and welcome to the very first edition of Mindful Mondays, my new, weekly newsletter about mindfulness, psychology, and personal growth.
Every week, Mindful Mondays will feature links to my latest essays, other articles I’ve read and enjoyed throughout the week, favorite quotes, podcasts, and more. I spend a significant (some would say excessive) amount of time each week reading and learning, and in this newsletter I hope to curate the best of what I’ve foraged in the wilderness of knowledge and share it with you. Enjoy!
By the way, if you were a subscriber of my old newsletter, Buddha’s Footprints, thank you for your support! It meant a lot to me while I was traveling solo across India and Nepal. If you don’t want to receive Mindful Mondays, no worries. You can click “unsubscribe” at the bottom of this email–I won’t take it personally.
Chris’s Writing
This week is a little different, because I have not one, but three recent essays to share with you.
How to Start Practicing Meditation: Friends and clients often ask me the best way to start practicing meditation. The truth is, developing a meditation practice is deeply personal, and there’s no one best way for everyone. Having practiced for 20 years now, though, I do have some thoughts on the matter.
You’re Not Who You Think You Are: Quick, right now–who are you? Are you your job title? Your role in your family? Your name? How about your body? Are those things all that you are, or just parts of you? If they’re just parts of you, then who are you, really?
Why It’s Getting Harder to Read Books: A few years ago, I started to notice a disturbing phenomenon: it was getting harder and harder for me to sit down and read a book. This was particularly worrying to me because I am a lifelong, library card-carrying, self-described “avid reader” and bibliophile.
Podcast of the Week:
Tim Ferriss Show #620: Dr. Gabor Maté–The Myth of Normal, Metabolizing Anger, Processing Trauma, and Finding the Still Voice Within. In this episode, Tim and Dr. Maté talk about the relationship between trauma and addiction, ayahuasca, therapy, healing, and Dr. Mate’s new book. It’s an important conversation and one I wholeheartedly recommend listening to.
Quote of the Week:
“The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience… A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it.” –from Dune by Frank Herbert
Poet’s Corner:
O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, Alone and palely loitering? The sedge has withered from the lake, And no birds sing.
From La Belle Dame Sans Merci, a very creepy poem by John Keats, who was born on Halloween, 1795.
Finally, happy Halloween, All Saints’ Day, Samhain, and Día de los Muertos to all those who celebrate these days. May you and your ancestors be well.
Chris Cordry, LMFT
PS: I would love your feedback on this first edition of Mindul Mondays. Which sections were your favorites? What would you like to see more of? You can respond to this message to let me know via email. I will read every response.
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