Sharp brain appreciations

A window into the brain fitness revolution, Sharp Brains offers a mix of fun brain teasers and serious commentary, focused on the implications of cognitive neuroscience research on health, education and corporate training.

SB's Alvaro Fernandez shares an exercise proposed by Jeffrey Brantley in Five Good Minutes: 100 Morning Practices To Help You Stay Calm & Focused All Day Long:

First, travel back, in your mind’s eye, to a time when you felt a healthy exhaustion, and let you relive that moment as vividly as you can.

Then, remember, re-experience, a loving exchange that really touched you. Pause. See the moment. Smell it. Hear what happened around you.

Next, visualize the most caring gesture you have ever received, as full of details as possible. Who gave you that gift of caring. How you felt.

Now, travel to the most magnificent place you have seen. Enjoy the views. Pause. Listen. Smile. Appreciate.

Go to the Smart Brains blog.

Jeffrey Brantley is the Director of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction at DukeHealth.org.

Comments

[Alvaro]

Dear Jeffrey, and Paul,

Thanks for linking to our blog. Happy that you enjoy that post, and meditation.

Jeffrey: have read in your profile that "“Have you ever started eating an ice cream cone, taken a lick or two, and then noticed only a sticky napkin was all that remained? We all fall into habits of “going on autopilot” which cause us to miss some really good things - and also ignore important information and messages about our life, our relationships, and even our own health. Being “mindful” and living in the moment is a great way to manage the stresses of everyday life.”

100% agreed. You will love this post, and the clip in it.
http://sharpbrains.wordpress.com/2006/09/10/on-attention-trading-psychology-and-open-minds/

These 2 posts are also very relevant
http://sharpbrains.wordpress.com/2006/09/22/answers-posted-as-comments-in-the-respective-brain-exercises/
http://sharpbrains.wordpress.com/2006/09/20/mindbody-and-the-role-of-emotions-in-decision-making/

Please feel free to email me, I would love to learn more about your center.

Best,

Alvaro

[Andrey]

Love the quote. It really brought back some memories... I guess I'll have to go to the source now.

Meanwhile, here is my "valuable contribution (observation?)": the images that came back to me were from the moments when I actually stopped for a moment and told myself to enjoy it.

Lesson learned: make "enjoying the moment" a habit, or at least a regular practice - you will thank yourself later (many times).