We all need to relax and take a deep breath. Literally. Now the free world is uncertain and reporters really are afraid to protest the executions of reporters worldwide. The protests of the killings in France did not get enough TV coverage. I hope the free press is not that afraid. The world needs to know the true events of what is going on. No religious or political bias should be involved. We all need to relax.

Or lives are filled with distractions e-mail, Twitter, texting. We are constantly connected to technology. We are rarely alone with just our thoughts. We need a way to get around the daily stresses of life. There is a movement or a practice called Mindfulness going around now that basically means to be aware of your thoughts, physical sensations and surroundings. There is one man Jon Kabat- Zinn who is responsible for this practice becoming more popular. He believes that Mindfulness is the answer for people who are so overwhelmed by life that they feel like they aren’t living at all.

Mindfulness really means awareness. We are only alive right now. Stop mourning about the past and worrying about the future. Look at you right now and find a way to feel  good , be thankful maybe even smile about something in the present. Jon is a trained MIT scientist who has been practicing Mindfulness for 47 years. In 1979 he began teaching Mindfulness through meditation to people suffering from chronic pain and illnesses. That program is now being used in more than 700 hospitals world -wide.  Start with the trauma you feel when your alarm clock goes off in the morning. How do you feel? Panicked that you have to get out of the house? or relaxed taking a moment to smile that you have woken up to another wonderful day. Taken a moment to breathe.

Get out of bed with awareness and happiness and do your morning rituals at peace with yourself. Don’t take 50 people with you into your morning shower. Leave them out. It should be just you and your hands feeling your body relaxed and clean in your thoughts and physicality.  Maybe you need to learn how to meditate. That means no cell phone, no Internet no alarm clock till you are ready to join civilization again.  Sit silently and convince yourself that there is no place to go, there is nothing to do just sit and know that you are sitting.

It sounds simple but it is not when your mind constantly wanders. Your mind has a life of its own going here or there. To not get lost in thought he suggest focusing on breathing and getting into the rhythm of your breaths. Jon Kabat-Zinn has written 10 books on Mindfulness and led nearly 100 retreats and describes meditation as a mental workout. Drop under the agitation and bring yourself back to your life in calmness. Tell that to the murderous Muslims.  Try eating in quiet and taste more and eat less food. Tell that to loud drunken party goers. All I know is that we have to try something different and survive life.