Many years ago I was in a cycle of a certain kind of stress that was bubbling just beneath the surface, in a way that didn't scream urgency as you would perhaps feel during a big life transition, exam season or project deadline season, the illness of a family member, but rather, the kind of daily stress that keeps you on a hamster wheel, moving through your day scratching things off to-do lists, with your mind firmly on the next thing.

I started having this very uncomfortable feeling that I was ending my day and when my head hit the pillow, even when I had gotten a lot of things done that day, I felt as though I had missed the whole day. I felt as though time was rushing past me and twirling me around as if caught in the force of white rapids. Had I even taken a conscious breath in the entire day? Had I really been present in my conversations? Had I even looked at my dogs as we were going on our long walk that I looked forward to so much? Had I even looked at the beauty of the woods we were walking in?

As it tends to happen, when I looked at my food choices that day, I had similar questions. Why did I eat that food I really didn't feel like eating just because it was easiest? Did I even taste my food? How long did it take me to eat? How was it? What was my favorite part?

The answers to all of these questions were either a mind left blank, or a big, no. As in no I hadn't been present in anything I had done that day, only in the race to get everything done.

Something had to change, and I did a little Google search and found something that changed my life forever. A free, open sourced, no email required course on something called mindfulness, MBSR mindfulness to be specific. What happened during the next few weeks was so astounding, and it still keeps me company to this day, it has changed my relationship with food, and it has been, above all else, a time stretcher.

In today's episode, I give you a beginners guide to MBSR mindfulness and how it connects to mindful eating and veganism. I'll provide you with resources, courses, apps, tools, videos and especially, a guide for getting started.

For the videos and links mentioned in today's episode click here or visit brownble.com/blog