1. Set an intention for this holiday season. It can be as broad or specific as you wish, but take a moment to consider how you’d like to spend this time and where you want to focus your time and energy. This simple action creates awareness, and will help you prioritize.

In our first interview with Mondo Samu, we asked him how it feels to have lost 100lbs with mindful eating and living over the last year. He spoke of mental and physical agility and stamina + how mindfulness has improved his relationships. Here we dig a little deeper - he shares with us what tools and knowledge have been most helpful in this journey.

Members of the Nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health have been advising Google food service to ensure healthy choices since 2009. During this summer, Google executive chef and nutritionist Olivia Wu and I discussed the appropriate portion size for desserts. Since all Google meals are free and employees get unlimited servings, I commented that it’s important for Googlers to learn about mindful eating along with healthy portion sizes and the nutrition of their food.

Recently I attended Thay’s retreat at Blue Cliff Monastery.  It felt wonderful to be together with Thay and the mindfulness community once again.  An acute awareness flows through me in this space. I feel joyful, more awake and free from the stress and worries of everyday life. Every time I leave a retreat, I bring this level of steadiness home with me – it's like getting a mindfulness booster shot.

 David Suzuki, Co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, Thich Nhat Hanh, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, and Suzuki Foundation Chair Jim Hoggan, sat down to discuss mindfulness and climate change.  They explored how to bring about the collective public awakening needed to restore health to the planet.

 The past is gone. 

The future is not yet here. 

Life can only be found in the present moment.

Mindful breathing, in and out, can bring you back to the present moment instantly.

After a long meditation, I wrote this poem. In it, there are three people: the twelve-year-old girl, the pirate, and me. Can we look at each other and recognize ourselves in each other? The title of the poem is "Please Call Me by My True Names," because I have so many names. When I hear one of the of these names, I have to say, "Yes."

Please Call Me By My True Names

Building a healthy community is very important to our practice. Within this caring community we are liberated from our perceptions of separateness. We are free to share our practice, our reflections and ourselves, openly. This nurturing environment allows us to let go of judgment and misperceptions because we know that in this group, there is positive company, love and support.