Author: Mindful Frontiers

Moods Change Like the Weather:

Inviting gratitude and acceptance of our emotions through meditation.

The human brain has a natural tendency to remember negative experiences more than positive ones. Psychologists refer to this as negativity bias. “Our brains are wired to scout for the bad stuff and fixate on the threat”, says Rick Hanson, Ph.D., Senior Fellow of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.

Our brain, by function and development, is a very “old” organ. The part of our brain that is the least developed is the amygdala, which is responsible for fight, flight, or freeze reactions to emotional experiences. This inner brain was crucial when we were hunter-gatherers, as we needed to remain ever-vigilant of threats to our survival.

As humans have evolved, this part of the brain has remained essentially undeveloped. On the other hand, the most significant part of the brain, the cerebral cortex, has evolved and continues to develop. This frontal area is responsible for many higher-order functions such as memory, perception and interpretation. Meditation and mindfulness stimulate the frontal area of the brain as well as the parasympathetic nervous system, which originates in the brain stem, and is responsible for relaxation.

Mindfulness can help us notice thoughts and sensations in the present moment and calm our amygdala. When teaching mindfulness of emotions in the classroom, I encourage students to describe them as types of weather, such as stormy, cloudy, rainy, and sunny. Each child perceives their mood, or internal weather, differently, so “cloudy” for one child may mean feeling introspective, while for another it could mean loneliness. It doesn’t matter which weather pattern we use to describe our mood, and by labeling emotions, we move the experience out of the amygdala to the frontal cortex, which makes it possible to use mindfulness to diffuse the emotion.

Inviting gratitude is a meditation practice for dealing with changing moods. After noticing our internal weather, we can invite gratitude as a way to accept the emotions being felt in the body. Asking the question, “What am I grateful for right now?” is a way to diffuse emotions and refocus the mind. With practice, your moods will settle as the mind chooses a more positive focus. Finding just one or two things to be grateful for may be enough to generate positivity and to settle your mind’s attention away from an uncomfortable mood to a more positive present-moment awareness. When we practice gratitude, we invite compassion and appreciation into our life experiences, which engages the parasympathetic nervous system.

“There is a 90-second window of opportunity during which we can choose to allow an emotion to flow through our body.”

If you attempt to ignore or push away emotions, they may become more intense. Noticing what you are feeling is the first step in accepting your moods. For example, anger makes the heart rate increase. This increase may send excess heat to our palms and face, or you may experience “a lump” in the abdomen or ches,t which is stuck negative energy. Once we become aware of where in the body we are experiencing sensations, mindfulness can be used to label the associated emotion. Anger can be restated as “tightness”, “choppy breathing,” or even “sweaty palms”. By labeling the emotion with a neutral phrase and noticing the sensation in the body, we move the feelings through the mind, into the body and eventually out with the breath.

Once you notice your internal weather, there is a window of about 90 seconds during which we can shift focus away from thoughts and invite mindfulness awareness, thereby preventing the emotion from escalating. Noticing where an emotion is manifesting in your body helps to interrupt the pattern of escalation and then engaging in mindful breathing practices can be quite calming. Lengthening the exhale is said to invite the “rest and digest” effect of the parasympathetic nervous system. Breathing in for a count of four and exhaling for a count of six is one example of mindful breathing. There are many other breathing practices that help move emotions out of the amygdala and into the frontal cortex, allowing us to regulate our moods through mindfulness meditation.

If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of meditation for moods, Mindful Frontiers offers a variety of guided meditation practices on Insight Timer, a user-friendly worldwide platform. You can download the app on your phone or visit the website for free or with a subscription.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) based in Taos, New Mexico, dedicated to promoting community wellness through meditation. We offer a variety of mindfulness & meditation tools designed to support and nurture individuals and groups with positive social-emotional growth. Our mission is to “welcome a mindful future, one present moment at a time,” guiding people towards greater awareness, emotional balance, and a deeper connection with themselves and others. Anne-Marie is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator. Featured practices can be found on the Insight Timer app. Our website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

A version was initially published in The Taos News, July 17, 2025.

Mindful listening meditation makes us more attentive.

Meditation isn’t just following the breath in and out of the body, even though that is the most basic practice. Meditation provides the mind something to focus on, allowing the body to relax and enabling us to simply observe the present moment. Sound meditation is a relaxing and enjoyable way to connect with our surroundings. What do we hear around us when we intentionally pay attention?

An example of this is sitting under a tree or on a porch listening to birds. Without trying to identify them, we notice their beautiful melodies as well as the spaces of quiet between the bird songs.

The challenging part of meditation is figuring out what to do with the thoughts that the mind conjures up.

I recently listened to an audio piece by Alan Watts entitled “Listen,” in which his voice, accompanied by background music, encourages us to simply listen without identifying what we hear: “The easiest way to get into the meditative state is to begin by listening. If you simply close your eyes and allow yourself to hear all the sounds … just listen to the general hum and buzz of the world as if you were listening to music. Don’t try to identify the sounds you are hearing. Don’t put names on them … don’t judge the sounds. Don’t try to make any sense … just listen to the sounds.”

The challenging part of meditation is figuring out what to do with the thoughts that the mind conjures up. In sound meditation, we try not to interpret what we hear and instead enjoy the sounds in a detached manner. While listening to the birds or other environmental sounds, we bring our attention back to the sounds themselves whenever we notice that our mind has wandered or is trying to make meaning of what we are hearing. We follow our breathing and practice concentration, and in the process of listening, we notice things about our surroundings that we may not have been aware of before. Listening to bird songs is a relaxing way to feel connected to our natural environment and to encourage present moment awareness.

Another form of listening meditation is when we are having a conversation with someone. When we practice deep listening, we can focus on what the other person is saying and remain curious about their words. For example, when someone is venting or describing a challenging experience, we can listen past the words into the need they are expressing. They may need to be comforted and feel appreciated, or just to be heard.

To listen mindfully, we must intentionally show up for the other person and make our own thoughts less important. Additionally, we can choose to listen for understanding rather than preparing our response. Many times, instead of listening closely, we are thinking about what we are going to say. Perhaps we are thinking about offering advice when it isn’t asked for. Perhaps we are planning to share with them an experience we had that was similar. And maybe we aren’t even listening at all, distracted by something else around us. Mindful listening is a meditation practice that enables us to be fully present to the other person.

As Thich Nhat Hanh wrote, before we can listen well to another person, we need to take the time to listen to ourselves. Sometimes, when we try to listen to someone else, we can’t hear what they are saying because our own emotions and thoughts are too loud in our minds. We should practice listening to our own emotions as they rise without judging or interrupting them. Simply noticing what is happening inside is the first step in mindful listening and is one of the Five Mindfulness Practices for everyday life.

At Plum Village, one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s meditation centers, these mindfulness practices aim to incorporate mindfulness into daily life and have their roots in the Five Precepts offered by the Buddha. Loving speech and deep listening remind us to be aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others. We commit to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening to help alleviate suffering and promote reconciliation and peace within ourselves and among others.

Many options exist if you want to incorporate meditation into your or your family’s daily routine. Pre-recorded practices can be found online, and Mindful Frontiers offers a wide range of guided meditations on Insight Timer and YouTube. If one-on-one guidance works better for your family, a personalized workshop can also be arranged.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and creative director of Mindful Frontiers, a B Corp based in Taos dedicated to promoting community wellness through mindfulness and meditation. We offer individuals, families and organizations a variety of practices designed to support and nurture positive social-emotional growth. Lifelong Taoseña, Anne-Marie, is a certified meditation leader and labyrinth facilitator. Mindful Frontiers is available on social media, on Insight Timer at insighttimer.com/amemanuelli, and at ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

Originally published in The Taos News, June 12, 2025

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Photo credit: Nina Silverberg by Mo Kaluta

Meditation and Memory: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Neuroscience

Among the well-known benefits of meditation, which include physical relaxation, attention enhancement and better sleep, the mind-body intervention of meditation has been found to contribute positively to the neuroplasticity of the human brain.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form structural and functional neural connections throughout life. At a young age, our brains grow exponentially, and during adolescence, this means organizing thoughts and memories to create a healthy understanding of our life experiences. Neural adaptation allows the brain to learn new skills, recover from injury, and adapt to changing environments. Many studies have shown that meditation helps our brain’s memory capacity and cognitive function. So it seems we can teach an old dog new tricks and meditation is one way to go about it.

Practicing meditation trains your brain to focus, and when we add the power of mindfulness — paying attention, on purpose, to one thing in the present moment — it helps us redirect our minds when we get distracted. An article by Dr. Scott Loeb published in Lone Star Neurology explored meditation and memory, stating: “By repeatedly focusing attention and cultivating meditation, it strengthens specific neural pathways. Mental exercise through meditation builds stronger connections between cells.”

Meditation practitioners learn to work with how they perceive the world, ourselves, and others. This can positively affect our lives, behaviors, and relationships.

In the book “Altered Traits,” psychologists Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson discuss research they performed on masters of meditation vs. novice meditators. Using MRI data and gray matter voxels, they examined the brain of Tibetan yogi Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, who began meditating at nine years old and comes from a lineage of Tibetan Buddhism teachers and masters. Rinpoche’s brain looked about eight years younger than what would be considered normal for a 40-year-old.

Additionally, the ability of master meditators to keep their minds focused for long periods indicates that meditation develops areas of the brain engaged in structural growth. Meditation can stimulate changes in the brain that encourage development in the hippocampus, a region vital for memory. As we age, using meditation to stimulate brain areas that enhance attention and memory may be another reason to bring these practices into our lives.

In Buddhism, meditation practitioners learn to work with how we perceive the world, ourselves, and others. This can positively affect our lives, behaviors, and relationships. Although the Tibetan master Rinpoche didn’t need proof of the benefits of his lifelong practice, it was interesting that science corroborated what he already knew from Buddhist philosophy. He has since written extensively about his experience collaborating with brain scientists in the book The Joy of Living.

Meditation also helps maintain attention and working memory during stressful times. Indeed, this is one of the most common impetuses for bringing meditation into a family’s routine. One study on human resources personnel, as explained on neurosciencenews.com, “showed that those who underwent MBSR training were able to maintain their attention and working memory capacity, even during periods of high stress, compared to a control group that did not receive the training.”

What about the most problematic aspect of memory loss, dementia? A study published in the National Library of Medicine in which “the effects of Kirtan Kriya meditation and music listening on cognitive outcomes in adults experiencing subjective cognitive decline, a strong predictor of Alzheimer’s disease,” suggested that the practice of meditation “can significantly enhance both subjective memory function and objective cognitive performance in adults with subjective cognitive decline, and may offer promise for improving outcomes in this population.”

Another study done in Boston and published in Virginian Rehabilitation & Wellness found that meditation strengthened the cerebral cortex, an area of the brain that handles mental functions such as learning, concentration and memory: “Regular meditation increases blood flow to the brain, which leads to a more robust network of blood vessels in the cerebral cortex, which reinforces our ability for memory capacity.”

The potential for using meditation to enhance the brain’s neuroplasticity is exciting. Harvard researchers reviewed more than a dozen recent studies examining the effects of either mindfulness or cognitive training on older adults with MCI (mild cognitive impairment). “For people with MCI, practicing mindfulness over several weeks to months seemed to sharpen attention, memory, and other mental skills, and ease anxiety and depression. Similarly, cognitive training was associated with better memory, executive function, and mood.” Indeed, it is exciting to scientifically notice fundamental changes in key brain areas that traditionally change and weaken over our lifespan.

Regardless of how it’s been proven, incorporating meditation into a family’s daily routine seems like a win-win option for members of all ages, and practicing meditators will confirm these benefits in their own lives. Many options exist if you want to incorporate meditation into your daily routine or your family’s daily routine. Pre-recorded practices can easily be found online, and Mindful Frontiers offers a wide range of guided meditations on Insight Timer and YouTube. A personalized workshop can also be arranged if one-on-one guidance works better for you.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC, a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) based in Taos, New Mexico, whose mission is to welcome a mindful future, one present moment at a time, and is dedicated to promoting community wellness through mindfulness and meditation. We offer individuals, families and organizations a variety of practices designed to support and nurture positive social-emotional growth. Anne-Marie, lifelong Taoseña, is a certified meditation leader and labyrinth facilitator. Mindful Frontiers can be found on social media and the Insight Timer app. The website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

Initially published in The Taos News, May 8, 2025

Tonglen practice for awakening compassion

When life is challenging, we can share kindness with the world.

Generating kindness and compassion during challenging times is a way to feel engaged in and supportive of the world. Helping others brings meaning to our lives and reminds us that we are all interconnected. Helping those in less fortunate circumstances opens our eyes to their struggles and brings perspective to our challenges. When we help others, we benefit society and ourselves. Tonglen is a compassionate meditation practice that awakens our potential for releasing suffering and seeking relief.

The word tonglen comes from the Tibetan language and translates as giving and taking. Tong means giving or sending, and len means receiving or taking. Pema Chödrön, an American-born Tibetan monk who is a Tonglen practitioner and teacher, explains that in tonglen practice, “we visualize taking in the pain of others with every in-breath and sending out whatever will benefit them on the out-breath.” Tonglen meditation uses visualization and the breath to transform negative energy using messages that generate peace; in the process, we feel love for ourselves and others.

Tonglen originated in India and was brought to Tibet around the 11th century. The practice originated to help those suffering from serious diseases so people might heal and continue to help others. Buddhist monks would practice Tonglen with the intention of releasing the suffering of others in their community and the world at large. “Usually, we look away when we see someone suffering. Their pain brings up our fear or anger and our resistance and confusion. So we can also do tonglen for all people just like ourselves—all those who wish to be compassionate but instead are afraid, who wish to be brave but are cowardly.” (Chödrön)

Tonglen is similar to Loving Kindness (Mettà) in that we use the transformative power of the heart to channel healing. Although the overall intention of these practices is similar, tonglen welcomes the feelings of suffering into our hearts. We feel the pain and sadness before guiding the heart to transform the pain into compassion and extend it outward into the world. Chödrön explains the compassion practice further: “Tonglen can be done for those who are ill, those who are dying or have died, or those who are in pain of any kind. It can be done as a formal meditation practice or right on the spot at any time. If we are out walking and we see someone in pain, we can breathe in that person’s pain and send out relief to them.”

Compassion is not the same as empathy. A working definition of compassion is “the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.” A subtle difference is that empathy is the ability to understand another’s emotions, whereas, with compassion, we also desire to relieve their suffering.

The following short tonglen practice can be offered for those struggling with illness or emotional suffering. It can be done sitting in meditation or on the fly as we go about our day’s activities.

Tonglen practice for families and groups. Young children can be invited to draw during this practice and use their creativity to channel compassion.

Sitting in stillness with eyes closed, we welcome compassion into our hearts. Generate open awareness as you watch the breath go in and out, inviting the desire to fully awaken to compassion. Bring your attention to the heart and welcome feelings of love – this could be a golden light, an image of the Buddha, or an overall feeling of warmth. You may also choose to place your hands on your heart.
Visualization of a person’s suffering using the breath and sensations. Breathing in and out welcomes an awareness of your or someone else’s suffering. Name the suffering (sadness, grief, pain). See the situation in as much detail as you wish.
Receiving and taking in suffering. Focus on the situation by seeing an image of the suffering. Use the in-breath to receive the image and transform it into something more positive on the out-breath. You may try using smoke changing into a healing white light. You can also see the person in pain and visualize their face turning into a smile. As you do this, recite several times: May this pain and suffering be released.
Expand compassion by extending it to all who are in the same situation. Using the same in-and-out-breath practice described above, visualize and welcome an awareness of all who feel the same suffering. On each out-breath, offer them the mantra: May this pain and suffering be released.

Conclusion of the practice: Sit in silence for several more breaths, enjoying the feeling of release and transformation. Recite the final mantra: May all beings be well and live with ease. When ready, open your eyes slowly, bringing awareness back to your environment and noticing your surroundings.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) based in Taos, New Mexico, dedicated to promoting community wellness through mindfulness. We offer schools and organizations a variety of mindfulness & meditation tools designed to support and nurture individuals and groups with positive social-emotional growth. Our mission is to “welcome a mindful future, one present moment at a time,” guiding people towards greater awareness, emotional balance, and a deeper connection with themselves and others. Anne-Marie is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator. Featured practices can be found on the Insight Timer app. Our website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

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Channelling Compassion using our Five Senses:

Meditation helps ground us in the present moment using the body.

According to the Buddhist teaching of the Five Remembrances, we are all of nature to grow old, get sick, and die, and all of life is of nature to change. This doesn’t mean we should capitulate to despair, though. We may be comforted knowing we’ve made it through many challenging times — maybe not unscathed — but we are still here and continue to experience the vagaries of human existence. What can we do when life seems overwhelming? Joan Baez said, “The antidote to despair is action,” which can take many forms, including taking a break, going for a walk and exercising, writing letters to politicians, working for systemic change, or connecting with your community.

Meditating with compassion (karuna) is a practice that allows us to process life’s challenges. Karuna helps us feel sadness and despair and channel it towards a change through the heart and mind. “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” (Dalai Lama XIV) Compassion is the understanding that we’re all made of strength and struggle. There is no immunity from the challenges of being human. Using compassion, we understand that there is a shared humanity, and we all wish for moments of rest, comfort, and contentment.

Since the brain is conditioned to grasp negativity, we must act to feel better. “People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.” (Thich Nhat Hanh) Mindfulness and meditation teach us that reality is what’s happening here and now, not what’s ruminating in the mind. Compassion practice is daring, as Pema Chodron writes, “It involves learning to relax and allow ourselves to move gently toward what scares us.” We can be courageous in life, understanding that being human means going through difficult times, learning how to handle them, and finding solace and happiness in every moment of our lives, no matter how small and insignificant.

Using the body’s five senses can help bring compassion closer to our hearts and away from the thinking, ruminating mind. In the following practice, which can be done alone or in a group, we use the senses as they come up in the body to acknowledge what is being felt. We practice noticing sensations without judgment or a desire to fix things. Mindfulness helps us be present with what IS in the moment and accept that we’re all in this life together, one breath at a time.

Five Senses Compassion Meditation Practice:

Find a comfortable position: Sit or lie down in a relaxed posture.
Close your eyes: If desired, close your eyes to enhance your focus. Otherwise, just focus on a neutral spot with eyes gazing down before you.
Settle the body using the breath: Begin with 3 deeper-than-usual breaths to relax the nervous system and bring awareness to the body. Breathing in, we notice the lungs filling up with oxygen. Breathing out, we share this life force with the outer world. Then, we invite the five senses one at a time with attention to what is happening now.
Focus on sight: Notice five things you can see around you, such as colors, shapes, and textures. Pay close attention using your eyes, just noticing these five things without judging or assigning meaning.
Focus on hearing: Listen to four different sounds, such as the ticking of a clock, the wind blowing, or voices.
Focus on touch: Feel three sensations on your body, such as the warmth of your breath, the softness of a blanket, or the pressure of your feet on the ground.
Focus on smell: Notice two distinct smells: coffee’s aroma and fresh air’s scent are examples.
Focus on taste: Identify one taste in your mouth, even if it’s just the lingering flavor of water or your last meal.
Repeat: Go through the five senses again as many times as you have time for, focusing on different things that come into your awareness.

Open your eyes: When ready, gently open your eyes and return to your surroundings. May you go forth in peaceful ease.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) based in Taos, New Mexico, dedicated to promoting community wellness through mindfulness. We offer schools and organizations a variety of mindfulness & meditation tools designed to support and nurture individuals and groups with positive social-emotional growth. Our mission is to “welcome a mindful future, one present moment at a time,” guiding people towards greater awareness, emotional balance, and a deeper connection with themselves and others. Anne-Marie is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator. Featured practices can be found on the Insight Timer app. Our website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

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Welcoming a Mindful New Year: How to Bring Meditation into Your Family’s Routine.

Many people will resolve to change something as they prepare to start a new year. Most New Year’s resolutions start with honest determination and end within a few weeks or months with lassitude.

Meditation and mindfulness benefit the entire family and here are some tips on bringing it into your family’s daily routine and making it stick. It isn’t difficult; like any change, it takes willingness, vulnerability, and practice. Meditation is a “practice” for good reason: it takes repetition, just like an exercise routine, to make it part of our schedule. So how can a family bring mindfulness meditation into an already-busy schedule? It’s simple: one breath, one present moment at a time, and practice.

The reasons for bringing mindfulness meditation (vipassana meditation) into your family’s life are well-researched and proven.

Families learn how present-moment mindfulness awareness can bring relaxation and social-emotional well-being into their homes.
Children learn that they aren’t judged by their thoughts, sensations, and feelings.
Mindfulness is a way to feel good, just as we are as we settle the nervous system.
Parents model what it means to be confident yet relaxed, happy, and at ease and accept that life is never perfect.
Families build strong bonds through a shared activity; the time spent together invests in compassionate relationship-building.

When sitting on my meditation cushion, I invite presence and calm to my body through mindfulness. Usually, I start the day with a brief moment of watching my breath and noticing sensations in my body and thoughts that arise in my mind. This happens upon waking, while still lying in my bed. I spend a few minutes just noticing what’s happening inside me. Then, as I slowly reach full awakeness, I look around my room and see the colors and light coming through the windows. The sun’s rays stream into the room through hanging prisms that cast rainbows of color on the walls. This practice is at the root of how I treat myself and my family; some days more successful than others. I’m not immune to bouts of sadness, anger and frustration. I believe that practicing what’s called Engaged Parenting is a positive way to live. We may think we aren’t doing enough as parents, but I deeply believe that mindful parenting is enough. “The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment,” says Thich Nhat Hanh. As we care for our children in the present moment, we care for the future.”

Four ways to bring mindfulness into your family’s daily routine:
Mindful Disconnect. Decide as a family when each person will put away their mobile device and engage in a physical activity such as going for a walk, bike ride or drive to the mountains. Even just sitting and staring out the window can be a mindful activity.
Mindful Travelling. When the family drives to and from school or another activity, we can notice sounds, sights and feelings internally and externally in our environment. Electronic devices are put down for a short period of present-moment mindfulness.
Daily Mindfulness. During an active time, we can do some mindful movement. Dancing, yoga, walking, and just jumping around can be an opportunity for mindfulness. Encouraging children to notice what their body is doing, how it feels in the different limbs to move, what sounds are generated by the activity, and if this is happening outside, noticing nature is a great mindful activity.
Mindful Wind-down. Before settling in for the night, the parent can lead a body scan to bring mindful relaxation to the bedtime routine. Bringing attention to each body part, starting from the feet or the head is very relaxing. Imagining a butterfly landing on each body part can add visualization to the body scan.

I suggest experimenting with these for a week and then discussing with your children which ones they enjoy most. Then, rotate between these mindfulness activities occasionally to keep the experience fresh. Children (and parents) like having a predictable routine and can get bored with the same thing after a while so changing it up may make it stick.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers LLC is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) based in Taos, New Mexico, dedicated to promoting community wellness through mindfulness. We offer schools and organizations a variety of mindfulness meditation tools designed to support and nurture positive social-emotional growth in individuals. Our mission is to “welcome a mindful future, one present moment at a time,” guiding people towards greater awareness, emotional balance, and a deeper connection with themselves and others. Anne-Marie is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator. Featured practices can be found on the ⁠Welcoming a Mindful Future⁠ podcast and Insight Timer app. Our website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

Twelve minutes a day of mindfulness sharpens the mind.

Meditation helps us pay attention and be more productive.

Mindfulness is about present-moment awareness. Paying attention to what is going on in the moment, inside and outside of our bodies is the key to meditation. The overarching idea is that by using the awareness skill of attention, we can become more focused on inner and outer experiences and be able to respond to difficult situations more calmly, avoid distractions and be more productive.

Dr. Amishi Jha, author of Peak Mind, and a neuroscientist and professor of psychology at the University of Miami explains that the brain’s neuroplasticity is at the heart of why mindfulness helps with focus. Her research team has identified that twelve minutes is the optimal amount of time for a daily meditation attention practice. “Attention regulates how you perceive your life, think your thoughts, feel your feelings, enjoy your memories, and daydream about the future.” Dr. Jha and her team taught people with high-stress jobs how to place attention where it matters most using mindfulness. “What we gain from mindfulness [is] the capacity to keep our attention where we need it… [and] the more you practice, the more you benefit.”

Daniel Goleman (known for his work on emotional intelligence) wrote in his book, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, “Mindfulness is one variety of attention, one way to focus. Concentration is another … If we start to be too concentrated, then mindfulness reminds us to break that trance of absorption and become mindful of what’s arising in the mind.” There are three types of attention: Inner, Other and Outer. Inner Focus is self-awareness. Other Focus is empathy for others. And Outer Focus is understanding systems or the way life works. While meditating, we practice paying attention to what’s going on inside and outside our bodies on purpose, or intentionally. Since the mind will inevitably try to take our attention elsewhere in an attempt to control experiences, we offer it something to pay attention to. This is called a mindful meditation anchor. Usually, it’s the breath but can also be sounds or body sensations. It can also be an open awareness in which we notice whatever comes into our mind and then let it go with non-attachment. We become observers of the present moment without getting distracted by what our ego mind would like to control, such as worry and anxiety.

The following short practice is a fun and beneficial activity for the entire family or a group of people, that is done with eyes open. You can engage in it at home or outdoors. Using the focus power of our eyes and mind, we practice paying attention, on purpose, to one thing for as long as it is visible. Enjoy!

Mindful Meditation Attention Practice

• Find a comfortable place to sit, either in a chair or on the ground looking through a window with an interesting outdoor view. Begin by relaxing the body with a few deep breaths in the nose and out the mouth.
• When you’re ready, choose an object in front of you as your mindfulness anchor: a bird, animal or insect. (I highly recommend selecting a moving anchor.) For as long as you are sitting in meditation, you will keep your focus on this one object and when other objects come into view, you disregard them and continue to watch your chosen anchor.
• When choosing a bird or insect, you may have to turn your head and follow it for as long as it is within your view. Follow your attention anchor, disregarding anything else that may come in to distract you. Only change your attention anchor if it flies away or disappears. Then just choose the closest object and continue paying attention for as long as possible.

Note: This mindfulness activity is fun because as our attention and eyes follow the anchor, we see other things we’d prefer to pay attention to but commit to focusing on one thing. This teaches us to discern and stay connected. It’s a metaphor for traditional meditation practice where we return to the breath whenever our mind wanders in thought.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers. Mindful Frontiers LLC is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) committed to community wellness. It provides schools and organizations mindfulness meditation tools that nurture positive social-emotional growth. With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie coaches children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator. Featured practices can be found on the ⁠Welcoming a Mindful Future⁠ podcast and Insight Timer app. Our website is ⁠MindfulFrontiers.net⁠.

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