Interesting article on our attention habits, click here for full article

JF: When people talk about attention problems in modern society, they usually mean the distractive potential of smartphones and so on. Is that connected to what you’re talking about in early-childhood development?

LS: We learn by imitation, from the very start. That’s how we’re wired. Andrew Meltzoff and Patricia Kuhl, professors at the University of Washington I-LABS, show videos of babies at 42 minutes old, imitating adults. The adult sticks his tongue out. The baby sticks his tongue out, mirroring the adult’s behavior. Children are also cued by where a parent focuses attention. The child’s gaze follows the mother’s gaze. Not long ago, I had brunch with friends who are doctors, and both of them were on call. They were constantly pulling out their smartphones. The focus of their 1-year-old turned to the smartphone: Mommy’s got it, Daddy’s got it. I want it.

We may think that kids have a natural fascination with phones. Really, children have a fascination with what-ever Mom and Dad find fascinating. If they are fascinated by the flowers coming up in the yard, that’s what the children are going to find fascinating. And if Mom and Dad can’t put down the device with the screen, the child is going to think, That’s where it’s all at, that’s where I need to be! I interviewed kids between the ages of 7 and 12 about this. They said things like “My mom should make eye contact with me when she talks to me” and “I used to watch TV with my dad, but now he has his iPad, and I watch by myself.”

Kids learn empathy in part through eye contact and gaze. If kids are learning empathy through eye contact, and our eye contact is with devices, they will miss out on empathy.

JF: So can people find ways to “disconnect”?

LS: There is an increasingly heated conversation around “disconnecting.” I’m not sure this is a helpful conversation . When we discuss disconnecting, it puts the machines at the center of everything. What if, instead, we put humans at the center of the conversation, and talk about with what or whom we want to connect?

Talking about what we want to connect with gives us a direction and something positive to do. Talking about disconnecting leaves us feeling shamed and stressed. Instead of going toward something, the language is all about going away from something that we feel we don’t adequately control. It’s like a dieter constantly saying to him or herself, “I can’t eat the cookie. I can’t eat the cookie,” instead of saying, “That apple looks delicious.”

Thanks to James Fallows and the Atlantic for this article

“Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.” ~Guillaume Apollinaire

50 Life Tips and Secrets

Ryan Calvert first shared this literature with Brian and Brian shared it with me.

Jordan’s 50 Life Tips and Secrets changed my life. I shared it with hundreds of my college friends and friends and family from home too.  The result was always overwhelmingly positive and often times “life changing.” I printed this and plastered it to my wall and asked everyone to read it when they came over. I printed out multiple copies and handed them out to people I didn’t even know.

Why was this shared with 1,000,000 people? Because it’s insanely great work. Powerful yet concise pieces that challenge assumptions and provide value are inherently shareable.

Jordan is a friend of ours and we respect and admire the path he’s taken in life. He’s an outstanding guy and a thought leader for the coming generation. Check out the link below and browse his website for inspiration and thought provoking content. Their mission is bold. And simply put: they’re changing the world.

Now, we’re sharing it with the Lucid Practice Community. Who will you share it with?

50 Life Tips and Secrets

Texting while driving has killed thousands in the US and states have passed legislation to outlaw, “distracted driving.”

I’m trying to reduce my own tendencies of “distracted living.” Although it’s not as deadly as distracted driving, distracted living can have negative consequences leading us to seek instant gratification instead of spiritual truths and causing us to miss out on what’s happening in the present moment.

Society has programmed us to live this way: we’re bombarded by hundreds of advertisements each day, we spend countless hours sitting behind computer screens, and we communicate with each other instantaneously via electronic devices.

On a typical weekday, a five minute snapshot of my morning looks something like this: a pop+up advertisement window to an interesting article, a text message from a friend, a business idea comes to me, a random thought about the past surfaces…. I’ve been struggling to focus on the present moment.

It’s a challenge and a goal for me to “Be here now” in whatever I’m doing and I often find my mind wandering. How can we slow down our “monkey minds” to increase stillness? Here are a few practices to help avoid distracted living and to incorporate mindfulness.

1. Turn the phone off

One of the best parts about traveling is being disconnected from the world and not having a phone. Instead of playing a meaningless iPhone game or having a trivial text message conversation, turn the phone off for an extended period of time. (a day, a weekend, day I say a week?)

Here’s a post w/ tips to reduce cell phone dependence

2. Go for a walk

When I’ve been sitting at the computer for too long, I’ll drop everything and go for a walk. Walking outside in nature is preferred but even a walk around a building inside can help you become more attuned with the present moment. Even if it’s only a 5 minute walk, it can change the complexion of your day.

3. Read a book

Whether it’s fiction or none, reading will help anxiety subside and help you become more present.

Photo of me reading at the beach, courtesy of Danielle Lussier:

4. Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, increases blood flow, and helps us focus on the present moment.

5. Get in nature

No phone, no technology. Just you and the natural environment. You’ll notice all sorts of life forms around you and be inspired by nature’s inherent beauty.

“There is nothing quite like immersion in Nature to restore a sense of wholeness to the soul.” ~Tim Miller

6. Meditate

I have a friend who meditates in several short bursts throughout the day while he’s at work. He’ll turn his back from the computer and focus deeply on the present moment for short spans of time (30 seconds, 1 minute.) He says it helps him to be more aware and creative throughout the day.

A Short and East Meditation for Beginners

Great tips on how to create a relaxing home meditation space: here.

7. Do a few yoga postures

It’s wild how doing two or three yoga postures can drastically change your day. Instead of reacting to external stimuli all day, you’re able to move the prana (energy) and blood throughout your body. Your spine and chakras become realigned and you start to feel alive 🙂

A one minute standing forward bend will drastically improve your day by sending prana to your brain, stretching your hamstrings, and activating your spine thus decreasing anxiety and calming the mind.

8. Turn the TV off

There are some people who literally cannot sleep without the TV on (I used to be one of them.) How can one listen to what’s going on within their own body if they’re always being bombarded with external stimuli such as TV and cell phone messages?

9. Breathe

Not the automated breathing that we use 99% of the time. Instead, the yogic, ujjayi breathing that steadies the mind. It’s incredible what 3 deep, even, focused inhales and exhales through the nose can do.

Click here for more tips on how to feel alive naturally.

What are other tips to be more aware of the present moment and to reduce distracted living?

3 Things You Didn’t Know About Tea and China

Every other Wednesday night, my friend Jane from Hangzhou, China, meets a few of us at the local library for Mandarin Chinese lessons. It’s a small group, usually me, Jane, and Thomas. Thomas is a great guy who’s passionate about Mandarin and more advanced in his knowledge than I am.

Jane and Thomas:

Jane is an incredibly kind person. Not only does she donate her time and teach us for free but she’s so focused during our meetings and I know she genuinely cares about us. She’s also very smart and concise and she asks poignant questions (as do many of my Chinese friends.)

Here’s Jane and me:

This past Wednesday, Jane brought us Long Jing Cha. Long Jing Cha is China’s most well known tea. In English, it is known as Dragonwell Tea. This tea is grown in Jane’s hometown, Hangzhou.

Look at the detail, art, and care put into the package:

The knowledge and wisdom we attain every other Wednesday is not constrained to language. Jane is passionate about Chinese culture I’m amazed at all the new things I learn every week despite the fact that I lived in the country for a brief time.

This past week, I learned a lot about a beverage that I drink on a daily basis: Chinese loose leaf tea.

Long Jing Cha (Dragon Well tea):

A healthy Long Jing tea leaf picked at the perfect time:

A healthy, perfect leaf (top of below picture) compared to one that’s not top quality (bottom of below picture):

Can you see the difference? The leaf on top has two stems (the sides) and a blossom (in the middle) whereas the bottom leaf has two stems and no blossom. The “perfect” leaves sell at a premium. The tea that we drink in the US is mostly poor quality chopped up and put into a bag. On Wednesday, the three of us drank our tea “Grandpa style,” named after the older generation in China who would drink their tea with the leaves in the cup (no straining.) 😉

A cup of steeping Long Jing tea (Grandpa style):

Learning from Jane

It’s not just the culture and language aspect that I’ve learned from Jane. I’ve learned a lot from her in terms of being a kind person. I admire her generosity of donating valuable time to help others learn. That’s a beautiful gift.

For a year and a half now, I’ve had hopes of following Jane’s example. I want to tutor those who are learning English as a second language. I plan on doing this free of charge in an attempt to help others as Jane has helped me.

The problem is, I set that goal nearly two years ago and still haven’t achieved it. Hopefully, sharing this goal with you will help build my willpower and accomplish this goal!

What’s your favorite kind of tea? Do you drink loose leaf tea?

“Let your one delight and refreshment be to pass from one service to the community to another, with God ever in mind.” ~Marcus Aurelius

“Do your practice and all is coming.” ~Pattabhi Jois