Welcoming a Mindful Future

Sometimes life can be boring, right? Boredom is a feeling we get when we wish things were different – more exciting or engaging – or as children say, more “fun”. Essentially, when we’re bored we have the desire for life to be different than it is right now. Buddhism calls this “grasping” and “clinging” and is said to be caused by thoughts (ideas) of how our mind wants things to be. 

In meditation traditions, we are asked to look at the grasping and clinging directly. We practice letting go of expectations and accepting what is right here in this moment – the only reality there is – instead of wishing for things to be different. When we investigate grasping and clinging, we may realize that discontent is a state of unrest. We can calm this through meditation which is being mindful of what is going on right now by following the breath that connects us to reality.

NOTE: At any time, when you need extra time during the practice, pause the podcast for as long as you'd like and come back to finish up.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers LLC is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) committed to Community Wellness by providing schools and organizations with mindfulness meditation tools that nurture positive social-emotional growth. With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie provides coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator.

“Awaken to the mystery of being here

and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.”

– John O’Donohue, poet

Have you ever just stopped what you were doing and listened? Deeply listened to the sounds and silence around you? Seems like an oxymoron to be encouraging silence and listening. The kind of silence I’m referring to is one where we are mindful of what is going on in the present moment, encouraging a deep awareness that comes from listening to what’s going on inside and outside the body. It is an invitation to put down electronics, the to-do lists, turn off social media engagement, and just be with our surroundings and our senses.

The meditation practice offered in this episode offers a way to bring mindfulness of sound into your family’s routine and I encourage you to set aside fifteen to twenty minutes for this practice since it may take family members a little time to settle down at first. And it would be especially nice to do this practice outdoors.

NOTE: At any time, when you need extra time during the practice, pause the podcast for as long as you'd like and come back to finish up.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers LLC is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) committed to Community Wellness by providing schools and organizations with mindfulness meditation tools that nurture positive social-emotional growth. With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie provides coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader and a certified labyrinth facilitator.

Where we place our mind’s attention is where our character and habits of thought will gravitate, much like a rut in the road that grabs us. This is part of the concept of “neuroplasticity” which means that our brains are malleable (adults and youth) and we can change how we think and act throughout our lives with intention, purpose, and practice.

One of my favorite meditation practices is Tonglen. The word tonglen comes from the Tibetan language and translates as giving and taking. Tong means giving or sending, and len means receiving or taking. Tonglen is similar to Loving Kindness (Mettà) in that we are using the transformative power of the heart to channel compassion. We acknowledge the suffering of the world and its beings and then visualize the suffering being transformed in the heart into compassion and then release it outward with intention, on an out-breath, for the betterment of the world.

Heart-based meditation practices such as tonglen and mettà are healthy ways to channel compassion into the world and our own lives. Focussing on the breath going in and out of the heart center is where we start this transforming process. One of the most powerful daily mindfulness practices is to watch where we place our mental attention as we go about our day. Taking a break from scrolling on an electronic device to sit in meditation is a valuable activity that shifts our focus from the external world to our internal environment and helps us notice what our mind is doing. Noticing what we are thinking or ruminating about, and then redirecting our focus back to the body and the breath is a liberating way to change the way our brains control and create ruts of behavior. It is worthwhile to contemplate conscious attention throughout the day as we go about our lives as well as when sitting in meditation. This kind of attention is called heart-mind awareness. Setting aside five to 10 minutes a day to do a heart-mind meditation practice is a healthy way to nourish wise attention and encourage a shift in our mind’s behavior.

NOTE: At any time, when you need extra time during the practice, pause the podcast for as long as you'd like and come back to finish up.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. Mindful Frontiers LLC is a Benefit Corporation (BCorp) committed to Community Wellness by providing schools and organizations with mindfulness meditation tools that nurture positive social-emotional growth.

With over two decades of meditation experience, Anne-Marie leads meditation workshops and provides coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader as well as a certified labyrinth facilitator.

Practicing gratitude is an extremely important skill because it brings joy and appreciation to our lives through the power of the heart. It is mental health and a daily attitude that helps connect us with that which brings joy. Mindful eating is a practice for welcoming gratitude and connecting to our food.

Families can model being grateful before eating a meal by invoking thankfulness to all who had a part in bringing the food to the table. The story of our food is a powerful way to welcome gratitude as we teach young ones about the process of food growing in the fields, being harvested by people and finally reaching the store where a family does its shopping.

How do you deal with stress and anxiety in your life? Do you listen to music, do art, exercise, something else? All of those activities help distract our mind at the moment for sure. They also require that you stop what you’re doing and devote some quality time to the activity which may only work while you’re actually doing it.

Meditation is a practice that you can do anywhere, anytime, and doesn’t require that you interrupt what you’re doing, change your clothes, either go outside or take a break from your work, and has long-term benefits.

Mindfulness and meditation instructor, Anne-Marie Emanuelli at Mindful Frontiers, leads students and individuals in guided meditation practices that help build resilience in everyday life. Meditation is a centuries-old practice that has been proven to soothe stress and anxiety by bringing our moment-to-moment attention to what is actually happening in the present moment, and in doing so, we move reactions from the limbic part of the brain to the frontal cortex where logic and reason can take place. 

More from Mindful Frontiers can be found at the following links:

Meditating in nature is a satisfying activity that anyone can do, no matter their age or mobility. Many people enjoy sitting under a tree or by a stream, lying on their back in a meadow or just sitting on the porch on a hot summer day. Communing with nature can be a rewarding experience, especially if we can feel gratitude and pay close attention to what is around us, appreciating the incredible colors, shapes and designs.

Anne-Marie Emanuelli, founder and creative director of Mindful Frontiers enjoys meditating in nature and believes, as many meditation teachers, that we are interconnected with Mother Earth. In this episode of Welcoming a Mindful Future, she explains the benefits of meditating in nature and then guides a practice that is intended for families or a group of friends and is appropriate for all ages and level of meditator.

The guided meditation takes place in a quiet outdoor place – the backyard, a city park, next to a stream, or in a forest. Once you’ve found your spot in nature, gather everyone around and sit down. If you have brought chairs, cushions or blankets, they can make sitting on the ground more comfortable. Barefooted would also be nice.

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Meditation script and all segments of this podcast ©2023 Mindful Frontiers LLC. No parts may be reproduced without explicit permission from the author.

Mindfulness can be brought into our daily activities so that anything we do becomes a kind of meditation. Doing the dishes, cleaning the house, driving the car, drinking coffee or tea, and walking with a pet can all be done mindfully. The key to mindfulness is to pay attention to one thing at a time and really enjoy what we are doing. 

When we engage in an activity mindfully we slow down and REALLY pay attention with applied concentration and open curiosity. I have noticed that when mindfulness is brought to an activity it becomes really enjoyable. The point of doing daily activities more slowly and mindfully is so that our body and mind may relax as we pay attention to what we are doing right now, rather than thinking about or ruminating about things that happened in the past or that may or may not happen in the future. 

“Walking the Labyrinth quiets the mind, opens the heart and grounds the body ... Some find answers to questions long asked, some find healing, creativity, a sense of wholeness ... ” (Veriditas.org) 

Labyrinths are one of the most mysterious symbols known to mankind.  This unique symbol is a geometric shape that does not occur naturally and yet feels very much at home in the landscape. Labyrinths have been part of indigenous cultures for thousands of years and Native American cultures have depictions on their artwork, pottery, and petroglyphs. The Man in the Maze symbol is actually a labyrinth, not a maze. Unlike a maze, the labyrinth has one circuitous path in and out where there are no secret passages, no trickery, and no goal. A labyrinth journey is a walking meditation and each person walks at their own pace with no expectations. Along the journey, we release any thoughts, take our time, and welcome reflection. Labyrinth walking is a moving meditation that can be healing, inspirational, or simply calming as we link the body and breath with present-moment awareness.

In this podcast episode, Anne-Marie Emanuelli, director and founder of Mindful Frontiers LLC, briefly explains the history of Tonglen and guides a short compassion practice to generate kindness towards ourselves and others. It is appropriate for families, individuals, and groups.  

One of my favorite meditation practices is Tonglen and a well-known teacher of this practice is Pema Chödrön.  The word tonglen comes from Tibetan language and translates as giving and taking. Tong means giving or sending, and len means receiving or taking. Pema explains that in tonglen practice “we visualize taking in the pain of others with every in-breath and sending out whatever will benefit them on the out-breath. In the process, we … begin to feel love for both ourselves and others; we begin to take care of ourselves and others.” In basic terms, tonglen meditation uses visualization and breath-focus to transform negative energy into positive. 

The concluding short tonglen practice can be offered for those who are ill, those who are dying or have already passed, or those people in pain of any kind. 

Meditating in nature is a satisfying activity. Many enjoy sitting under a tree or by a stream, lying on our back in a meadow or just sitting on a bench in the backyard. Communing with nature can be a rewarding experience, especially if we are showing gratitude and paying close attention to what is around us. In the book, Awake in the Wild, author Mark Coleman writes, “Nature has the power to transform and awaken us. For centuries, monks, mystics, and other individuals have lived, meditated, and sought refuge in the forests, deserts, and mountains.”

What if? This is the intention or theme for this guided meditation. Find a quiet place outdoors – the backyard, a city park, next to a stream, or in a forest and enjoy this practice alone, with your family or a group of friends. It is appropriate for all ages. 

The poem used in this meditation is by Kai Siedenburg from her poetry compilation entitled Poems of Earth and Spirit. The poem What if? is found on pages 41-42. With gratitude to Ms. Siedenburg for her beautiful poetry that is inspiring for meditation and contemplation of Mother Earth.

Meditating in nature is a satisfying activity. Many enjoy sitting under a tree or by a stream, lying on our back in a meadow, or just sitting on a bench in the backyard. Communing with nature can be a rewarding experience, especially if we are showing gratitude and paying close attention to what is around us.

Recently, I spent 4 days in a hermitage at Lama Foundation. This is something I’ve enjoyed since 2008. When I was teaching, a personal retreat helped me nurture inner strength before going back to the classroom. As a retired educator, I enjoy silent retreats as a way to feed a relationship with nature and all life forms. This fall, I’m looking forward to a 7-day group retreat at Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center. I highly recommend retreats to parents and individuals; it’s a great way to draw inspiration from stillness, tranquility, and inner wisdom while close to nature.

The following practice is intended for families to practice together in a natural setting. Find a quiet place outdoors – the backyard, a city park, next to a stream, or in a forest and enjoy this practice together. It is appropriate for all ages.

We all have busy schedules and some days are more hectic than others. Just getting out of the house to school can be a major challenge some days. In this month’s podcast, I talk with the Oberczynski family. This conversation is an honest look at how they are trying to bring balance and relaxation into their family routine. Sarah & Sam believe in mindfulness and their energetic children, Zia & Rowan, understand what mindfulness is which is an important foundation in creating a relaxed home life. I hope your family will learn from this casual conversation.

This podcast is dedicated to bringing mindfulness and meditation to families with children. It’s our vision and my life path to “Welcome a Mindful Future; one child, parent, family, community; one present moment at a time.”

If you’d like to be a guest, please reach out via email (mindfulfrontiers@gmail.com). 

Let's do a body scan using mindfulness! It's like a scavenger hunt through the body, sensing any sensations that come up and then letting them go as we move to the next body part. Body scans are great for getting ready for the day, taking a break, or at bedtime. 

Anne-Marie Emanuelli, Founder and Creative Director of Mindful Frontiers, leads this child-centered meditation to introduce the practice of being aware of our body through mindfulness of sensations. We hope your family enjoys this mindful meditation practice. 

In the next episodes of this podcast, Anne-Marie speaks with people from different walks of life and discusses how to bring mindfulness into their family’s routine. Each episode includes conversations about mindfulness and meditation, a guided practice, feedback plus suggestions for their family's next steps. Join me in welcoming a mindful future; one present moment at a time.

About your host:

Creative Director and meditation instructor at Mindful Frontiers, Anne-Marie Emanuelli, brings over two decades of meditation experience to welcome a mindful future. Mindful Frontiers is located in Taos, New Mexico, USA, and offers meditation classes, workshops, guidance, and coaching for families with children, individuals, and educational institutions.

Semi-retired after 25 years as a classroom educator, Anne-Marie's mindfulness credentials include certificates from Mindful Schools, a 200-hour meditation leadership program at Sage Institute for Creativity and Consciousness, and an 8-week MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) course. She also participates in online meditation retreats to support her personal practice. Her classroom teaching credentials include a Level 3 New Mexico 7-12 teaching license.

To find out more about Mindful Frontiers:

Body scans are a fun way to practice mindful meditation when relaxation is desired. How about doing this one with the whole family!  

Anne-Marie Emanuelli, Founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers, leads a body scan meditation intended for children 7 to 12 years old. The body scan is a type of meditation where we take a trip through our body using mindfulness and the breath. The purpose is to bring awareness to sensations in the body in the present moment. 

This meditation takes about 12 minutes and there is guidance as well as silence. Enjoy!

In the next episodes of the welcoming a mindful future podcast, Anne-Marie speaks with people from different walks of life and discusses how to bring mindfulness into their family’s routine. Each episode includes conversations about mindfulness and meditation, a guided practice, feedback plus suggestions for their family's next steps. Join me in welcoming a mindful future; one present moment at a time.

About your host:

Creative Director and meditation instructor at Mindful Frontiers, Anne-Marie Emanuelli, brings over two decades of meditation experience to welcome a mindful future. Mindful Frontiers is located in Taos, New Mexico, USA, and offers meditation classes, workshops, guidance, and coaching for families with children, individuals, and educational institutions.

Semi-retired after 25 years as a classroom educator, Anne-Marie's mindfulness credentials include certificates from Mindful Schools, a 200-hour meditation leadership program at Sage Institute for Creativity and Consciousness, and an 8-week MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) course. She also participates in online meditation retreats to support her personal practice. Her classroom teaching credentials include a Level 3 New Mexico 7-12 teaching license.

To find out more about Mindful Frontiers:

As we get ready to start a new year, many people will resolve to make changes in their life. Most New Year’s resolutions start with honest determination and end within a few weeks or months with lassitude. In this podcast episode, you will learn some basic ways to bring mindfulness and meditation into your family’s daily routine and make it stick. It isn’t difficult and like any change, it takes willingness, vulnerability, and practice. Meditation is called a practice for good reason: it takes repetition, just like an exercise routine, to make it part of our schedule. 

So how can a family bring mindfulness meditation into an already-busy schedule? It’s as simple as one breath, one present moment at a time, and practice.

In this introductory episode of welcoming a mindful future, Anne-Marie Emanuelli, Creative Director and founder of Mindful Frontiers introduces five ways to bring mindfulness into your family’s daily routine. 

In the next episodes of this podcast, Anne-Marie speaks with people from different walks of life and discusses how to bring mindfulness into their family’s routine. Each episode includes conversations about mindfulness and meditation, a guided practice, feedback plus suggestions for their family's next steps. Join me in welcoming a mindful future; one present moment at a time.

About your host:

Creative Director and meditation instructor at Mindful Frontiers, Anne-Marie Emanuelli, brings over two decades of meditation experience to welcome a mindful future. Mindful Frontiers is located in Taos, New Mexico, USA, and offers meditation classes, workshops, guidance, and coaching for families with children, individuals, and educational institutions.

Semi-retired after 25 years as a classroom educator, Anne-Marie's mindfulness credentials include certificates from Mindful Schools, a 200-hour meditation leadership program at Sage Institute for Creativity and Consciousness, and an 8-week MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) course. She also participates in online meditation retreats to support her personal practice. Her classroom teaching credentials include a Level 3 New Mexico 7-12 teaching license.

To find out more about Mindful Frontiers: