Today marks the 100th mental fitness tip in the Mind Master blog!  Knowing this brings a tingling sensation from within.  We have a come a long way since the first post 14 months ago.  We have covered a lot of territory and there is so much more to come.  Mental fitness is like a vast ocean with swells of growing awareness, tides of emotions and pockets of calm reflected in crystal clear waters.

Sensory stimuli are everywhere!  When bodily sensations arise,  we are alerted to something that requires our attention.  Whether it be anxiety, joy, fear, or passion, we can either respond mindfully or simply react without further thought.  If our reaction is a habitual one that does not serve us well, we hinder our capacity to grow in life.  In order to maximize potential, it becomes necessary to practice mindfulness.  Mindfulness effectively intervenes by creating space between the sensory stimuli and your response.

Mindfulness is the key to enduring wellness.  Bring full awareness to your experience in the moment.  Take time to simply breathe and reflect on your core values while keeping the bigger picture in mind.  Respond wisely with the ultimate goal of win-win.  At the end of the day, celebrate your wise decision knowing that you did the very best you could in that moment!         

Humility is our greatest teacher.  Humility is the state of being humble, modest and respectful.  Humility shines the light on our imperfections as well as our need for others and things outside of our being.  For example, we need farmers to grow our food and doctors to assist with our ailments.  They are all resources we rely on to sustain ourself through.  Humility reveals the true nature of all living things.

How can we cultivate humility?  We can do this by spending more time in nature.  Lessons on humility are abundant in our natural surroundings.  Trees, wildflowers and spores live harmoniously alongside one another, sharing nutrients from the earth and sky and in turn, providing nourishment and protection to other living species.  A delicate ecosystem is visible everywhere you look.  Witness the interdependent nature of all living things on our planet.

Just as plants need sunshine and water to fully blossom, we too require light and water (and other elements!) to grow our true potential.  Choose one day this week to indulge yourself in mother nature’s embrace and reap the lessons she has to offer.  Maintain awe while observing the amazing ecosystems in your surroundings and on your return trek home, express gratitude for all the people and things in your life that support living well!

Preferences are good!  Knowing what you like and what serves you well in life is very important.  Preferences allow us to make good choices to maintain optimal wellness.  For example, I prefer to dine outdoors in a serene environment.  These are my personal preferences which I believe enhance the quality of my life.

Personal preferences do not make one person better over another.  They only reveal the unique nature of the individual.  Problems arise when labels are attached to preferences.  In reality, preferences are neither good or bad and are simply reflections of personal choices.  Refrain from labeling preferences as they only bring judgement.

We all have judgements.  Resist judging yourself or others.  Judgement comes from our past and is something that we can consciously suspend by choice today.  Commit to practicing compassion instead.  See yourself and others as evolving pieces of art.  No one is perfect or free of blunders.  The best anyone can do is their best and learn from their mistakes.  Release judgement, embrace compassion and you will free yourself to be all that you were meant to be! 

Stretch yourself beyond your field of vision. Know which direction you want to head without needing to know the exact route. See yourself somewhere in the distance without ‘seeing’ exactly where you will be. Relax into the journey and embrace an attitude of open wonder as you adventure into a new frontier.

Growth involves changes.  Open yourself to being redefined beyond your current place in life; beyond your current views, current knowledge and level of understanding.  Like a rebirth, allow yourself to be reinvented and born over and over again.  This is where the essence of vitality and living fully resides.  Open yourself to a wondrous life.  Open yourself to potential!

Recognize your capacity to change.  This is key to developing your potential.  Recall times in your life when you faced challenges and grew through them to reach new heights.  There is no limit to what you can achieve once you set your mind to it.  Evolve your own greatness by mindfully choosing actions that advance you in life.

For example, if you want to develop greater self-control and assertiveness in times of conflict, you could take advantage of peaceful times and think of different ways of responding.  Rehearse a compassionate response that neutralizes the situation and helps to dissolve the tension.  Refrain from allowing yourself to become vulnerable and reacting defensively.  You might choose to say “I see you are upset.  I feel concerned about the situation and would like to resolve this problem together.  Would you be open to brainstorming a solution in the morning?”  Think forward, choose mindfully and one step at a time, you will gradually come to realize your true potential!

Developing your potential has a lot to do with play.  Are you aware of the children’s toy called Silly Putty?  It is a small piece of flesh-coloured dough that comes in a plastic egg.  The putty was dubbed ‘silly’ because you can do fun things with it.  One of my favorites, as a child, was pressing it into newspaper images of cartoon characters and stretching it to outrageous proportions.  The putty also bounced well and it delighted me to watch it ricochet back and forth against hallway walls.   You can see the silliness that the putty evokes.  What does this teach us about potential?  Everything!

Like the putty, we too are pliable.  We can stretch and reinvent ourselves over and over again, throughout our lifetime.  We are only as limited as our mind allows.  Deepak Chopra, author of SuperBrain, states that we have a relationship with our brain and we can either nurture it or ignore it.  Nurturing our brain means making sure that we have the right amount of stress, the right amount of stimulation, plus ample opportunities for creating and having fun.  Joy is the path to potential.  See yourself as flexible and not rigid or fixed!  Find what you love and your potential will naturally rise!

Mind Master is celebrating ONE YEAR of Great Workshops by offering an encore presentation of ‘Bounce!’ in an evening session.  This workshop was very well received on May 6, with comments like “inspiring”, “very informative”, and “highly educational”.  Bounce! is scheduled for Tuesday evening, June 11 from 7 – 9 pm at Douglas College, 1250 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam in Room C1003.  It is further discounted to $20+tax as a way of saying thank you to all those who supported Mind Master over the past year!

Resilience is a much sought after quality.  Nature provides us with numerous examples, but of the life forms at the top of the list, few are those of which we would want to emulate!  Termites, rats, and bacteria head the list of these otherwise inspiring mentors!   Thankfully, the human imagination has come up with 5 caricatures that we can mimic for becoming more resilient in life.

How well do YOU respond to change?  Are you as resilient as you would like to be?  If not, join this workshop on  the evening of June 11 to learn the 5 caricatures of change, their advantages and disadvantages, and how you can employ these for greater resiliency in life.  Bounce! covers important topics including emotional competence, depression, courage, and the 4 c’s of resiliency.  Don’t miss mind expanding conversations on how your nervous system and emotions impact you, as revealed in fight or flight responses!

Scintillating discussions await you as you gain inspiration for taking a pro-active approach to enduring wellness!  Nuggets of wisdom will surely be your reward!  Read more about this workshop on the April 25 blog post and I hope to celebrate Mind Master’s first anniversary with many of you!  Register today!

What do you value most in your life?  Take some time to reflect on your answers before reading further.

If your wellness was not on the list, it is time to change that.  Valuing your wellness means valuing your self, which is critical to self-worth and self-confidence.  When you value your self, you make sure that your mental, physical, and spiritual needs are at the top of the list.

Self-worth is independent of achievements.  Although our culture values status and productivity, true self-worth is an inner process that involves unconditional acceptance of oneself, including weaknesses.  Know that no one is free of faults.  Acknowledging and accepting weaknesses can be an asset as it allows us to focus on our strengths and inherent gifts.

What talent or skills do you naturally possess?  Focus on building these to enhance your sense of self-worth.  If you are not sure, ask a good friend what qualities they see in you.  Often, others see more than we do since our view of ourselves has been influenced by parents and teachers during our impressionable years.  Embrace your gifts, appreciate yourself exactly as you are and commit to developing the unique individual that you are.  There is no other person like you in the whole wide world!  Nurture and celebrate your authentic self!

As many of us know, M&M’s are the little candies that melt in your mouth and not your hands.  These colourful confections are the sweetness of life that arouse the senses.  Tap into another sense by attending Mind Master’s newest workshop: ‘Mindfulness & Meditation’.  Unlike the candy form, this M&M is intangible and cannot be held in your hands.  Therefore, there is no risk of it melting in your hands or even escaping your clutches.   The trick, however, is grasping it!

Join thoughtful conversations and experience a sampling of meditations to heighten your awareness of living mindfully every day.  Mindful living involves conscious awareness of the present moment without preoccupation of yesterday’s problems and tomorrow’s worries.  Learn self-soothing strategies to ease your mind and create greater peace within.  A variety of relaxing exercises will be provided, including breathing, mantra, eating and walking meditations.  Take the lighter path to managing daily stressors and gaining more peace and enjoyment in life!  Register today:  Note change in time, venue, price and registration process:

This workshop takes place on Friday, May 24, 2013 from 10:00 – 12:30 at Wilson Centre, 2150 Wilson Avenue, Port Coquitlam.  Cost $1/$2.  Register in person at Wilson Centre, by phone 604-927-7529 or on-line experienceit.ca  *Adults of all ages are welcome! (You do not need to be 50 years or older to participate.)