Good morning meditators! Meditations for the advent season continue...In today's practice, we respond to some participant questions about "why do I get so stressed out at this time of year?" I see it with my students, my friends, family and colleagues, and myself personally. I get pretty overworked by December and find it harder and harder to unwind. If anyone in my professional and personal spheres are in crisis, and usually at least 3-5 people are, I am deeply affected and find I can't turn off by the time December rolls around. Time for a holiday.

But what can we do to unwind day by day in the moment so we don't get too worked up and strung out? When speaking with a friend who is an ER psychiatric nurse, she reminded me that truly we cannot offer anything to others except our energy aligned with unconditional love. This allows us to be of maximum support. These are big fluffy words, a really lofty principle. So let's bring in down to earth. What does this actually mean for our thoughts and actions in each moment?

It means being securely grounded, even when we're struggling or frustrated, in the perception that all our brothers and sisters may face inner and outer battles we don't understand, that they are all companions on this journey through this moment in time even if they are strangers, that they are our equals worthy of respect, love and forgiveness, and we are worthy of the same.

It means also taking the time and actions it takes to reconnect with these goals. Why? Because human life in these bodies requires us to constantly face challenges, big and small. It is not normal for us to bask in the ease of all the time; life's troubles show us contrast and challenges that require skillful response.

It is not realistic to expect to meditate and align with unconditional love in order to have an easy life with fewer problems. It works differently; when we make the commitment to the alignment with unconditional love as a guiding principle for all thought and action, then we are enabled to have more skillful, more joyful responses to even bigger problems.

Today's class uses the anchor of the body scan with a visualization to practice developing and connecting to this flow of unconditional love, as an antidote to December stress!

To join our class live, please email Calgary Mindfulness @ Gmail.com and visit our website at http://CalgaryMindfulness.ca Have a wonderful week! Rosanna D'Agnillo

Good morning! In today's practice we sit with our usual anchors of body, breath, and sound, and explore the passage of memories across our meditation practice. Thoughts and memories arise, and we aim to welcome them and allow them to pass, without getting stuck in reliving and/or punishing ourselves for what we did wrong. I would consider today's meditation intention part of the anchor of thoughts.

Today's intention was submitted by a participant, who felt that in honoring his highest and best, he was only investing in a mask, and that his true emotions and thoughts were so turbulent, if he revealed to others his real core, he would be rejected, and the thought of revealing this honesty filled him with shame. Our take on this topic in today's practice is to review where we have handled situations skillfully, and to honor these occasions as moments where we have manifested our highest and best, showing our true strength and resilience.

We cannot be at our highest and best all the time, because we are human. If we expect this, we are expecting too much. We don't "get there"; it's about the journey. Although it does get easier to express ourselves at our highest and best in our thoughts and actions with practice and discipline, we still mess up. When we mess up, it is important to be compassionate and not beat ourselves up as being a bad person. It is important to practice using these events where we have missed the mark as learning opportunities.

To join our practice live, please email [email protected] and visit our website at www.CalgaryMindfulness.ca. Please submit your intentions and requests at any time.

In today's practice, we begin with our previous three anchors of breath, body and sound, and sit in loving kindness practice. This fourth anchor brings many immediate health and emotional benefits. When working with children, I have referred to this anchor via the analogy of being a secret Santa.

To join our practice live, please visit CalgaryMindfulness.ca and write [email protected]. Please watch today's practice here on youtube if you prefer at https://youtu.be/DztioNmjtmk. You can also submit your intentions for practice to this email address also. Thanks! Rosanna D'Agnillo, Calgary Mindfulness Lead Facilitator and Founder

Greetings! In today's meditation we explore the breath anchor, attaching a strength mantra to the inhalation. To join our practice live, please email me at [email protected]. Thanks! Rosanna

Greetings! We received many emails about election worry, and this past week, either election blues for people who worry about continued hate and fear mongering, and also a sort happy rage and relief from people who feel excited to inflict retribution, justice and right-thinking on those who have disagreed with them. Either pole consists of toxic thinking. Our role is to chose to be the change we want to see in the world, within and then without. All angry and fearful thoughts create more anger and fear in the world, and the little things turn into big problems. Our role as meditators is to understand that our attitude and intention changes mind and body, and thus the world around us, and to recognize and harness this important power to be the change we want to see in the world.

To join our weekly practice or to submit intentions and questions, please email [email protected].

Greetings! This meditation was motivated by some listener & viewer questions regarding how to handle the increasing level of fear and anxiety that is arising as the American election nears, next week at the time of recording. Sure, fear mongering among political parties to ensure they get into power or stay in power is as old as democracy, but sometimes even knowing that doesn't help us surf it more easily, since the thoughts/emotions of a large group of people affect us deeply in unconscious ways that we may not understand. I have to do a meditation like this every American election, not the Canadian elections--this indicates just how much more divisive fear mongering is present in American politics than in some other nearby nations.

When we look at the history of violent revolutions (French, Russian for example) and see that everyone basically ends up on the guillotine or in a gulag) we can understand that there is no rational, peaceful end to political fear-mongering and division. Hate and fear only self-perpetuate; they can never create love and peace.

The only way out is to take a step back and reconnect to our common shared humanity. We are all here on an identical journey. Today, we undertake a loving kindness meditation for strangers that we encounter, and I encourage you to do this active practice with each stranger you encounter over the week, whether driving, walking, on transit, in elevators and so on.

To join our practice live or submit questions that we can use to guide a meditation, please email [email protected]. I also invite you to visit CalgaryMindfulness.ca for meditation news, articles and videos. Thanks and have an excellent week! Rosanna D'Agnillo, Founder & Lead Facilitator, Calgary Mindfulness

Greetings! Today we review a mix of the anchors we have reviewed so far in this season--the mindful body, the breath, sound, gratitude, and the body scan. We mix these anchors fluidly during today's practice, which requires great focus and self-compassion for returning to focus as the mind wanders.

Don't you love that we are developing mental and physical discipline? Yeah! As you will see, awareness of all the senses required to keep track of these anchors is pretty consuming, and doesn't leave any bandwidth remaining for the usual distractions of thoughts and emotions!

I was hoping to film today's practice from my location in the mountains, but it was extremely windy and we had to pack up our camp in a hurry just after sunrise. Good thing, since it was snowing shortly thereafter. Appreciate your patience these last couple weeks since our live practice got interrupted by my finding solace in nature over the weekends. As the weather cools I will be homebound on more weekends and our next practice, Sunday Nov 3, will be at 8am MST (time change next weekend, falling back here in Canada).

To join our weekly practice, please email Calgary Mindfulness at [email protected], and visit our website at www.CalgaryMindfulness.ca. Please submit your questions to guide our weekly practice to [email protected]. Thanks!

Greetings! Welcome to our weekly Sunday meditation. Today we will use the "rampage of appreciation" strategy to anchor our practice, directing our attention to our private lives, appreciating our friends, family, homes, and also to our public lives, finding what we can appreciate in our work, professional or otherwise public lives.

Reminder, to join our meditation real time, or to submit questions and concerns for us to review, please write [email protected], and/or visit www.CalgaryMindfulness.ca. Thanks! Rosanna @ Calgary Mindfulness

Greetings! Welcome to our weekly 15 minute meditation. To join live or subscribe to our mailing list, please email [email protected], and visit our website at www.CalgaryMindfulness.Ca.

In today's meditation, we explore scanning the body as a meditation anchor. It is a traditional anchor that you've likely tried before as a relaxation technique or sleep aid. The Body Scan is also an excellent focusing tool, helping us to pay attention to small nuances in our bodies in a compassionate way.

Please feel free to submit your questions and comments to guide our future practices!

Thanks, Rosanna - @CalgaryMindfulness

Good morning! In today's meditation, we explore the breath as an anchor. This means how to use the breath as a focal point for meditation. In this practice, we attach a mantra and visualization to the inhalation and exhalation.

To join our practice live (Sundays 8am online) please email [email protected]. Our weekly practice is guided by your submitted intentions; anything you have on your mind or about which you would like guidance or to sit in community practice, you can also send in and we will incorporate! Have a wonderful day. Kind regards, Rosanna