Left Brain Buddha
the modern mindful life
Welcome to Left Brain Buddha! We’ve got all sorts of ideas and resources here to help you live your modern mindful life.
10 Fun Activities That Teach Executive Functioning to Kids and Teens
In a typical day, do you ever have to... pay attention to something (even if it's totally boring)? ignore the things that distract you from the thing you have to pay attention to? hold several pieces of information in your head at the same time? stifle impulses to say...
10 Totally Mindful Mantras from Totally Awesome 80’s Movies!
“Be excellent to each other” and other mindful mantras inspired by the awesome 80’s!
A Mindful Summer Bucket List
A non-judgmental, non-striving, okay-if-you-don’t-do-it-all MINDFUL Summer Bucket List! (with a pdf download)
5 Ways to Be Mindful While Using Your Phone
The average mobile phone user checks their device over 200 times per day. Yep, per day (according to research cited by Mary Aiken, Ph.D., in her book The Cyber Effect). That means we check our phones every five minutes. The Internet that these powerful...
Teaching Mindfulness to Kids: Mindful Listening
Mindful listening is a great way to introduce young children to the practice of mindfulness. Discover several fun ways to teach this concept to kids — with lots of helpful resources!
Mindful Mantras for Teachers
Teaching is amazing. And hard. Mindfulness is a valuable tool for teachers as we do this difficult work. Get started with these mantras for teachers!
10 Ways to Ban Busy… and Still Get Stuff Done!
We celebrate busy-ness and brag about our lack of sleep and long hours at work. Perhaps it’s time to ban another B-word: BUSY. Here’s how to do it and still get stuff done!
The Two Most Important Questions You Can Ask Yourself
Welcome! Now that you've arrived here, I want to you take a moment to close your eyes (well, close them after you read this paragraph ?), take a deep breath, and ask yourself, "What do I notice?" And then ask yourself, "What happens next?" In his masterful...
5 Ways To Be Mindful at Work
Scenario: You're sitting in your Monday morning meeting, but your thoughts begin to drift into the past (perhaps to the movie you saw with your kids over the weekend) or into the future (perhaps to the next meeting on your agenda). Suddenly you realize you're not...
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Why We Need Connection and Friendship
While there certainly are a lot of silly love songs out there, we also sing a lot about breakups. We lament achey breaky hearts, wrecking balls, and falling to pieces. We croon about how love is a battlefield, how it tears us apart, and when it leaves we're in a...
How to Breathe — For Kids!
If we just tell our kids, “Breathe!” or “Calm down!”, they likely don’t know what we mean. Teach your kids how to breathe!
The Joy of Going Slowly: Moving Without Arriving
“It is important to note that movement alone, done automatically, without attention, does not provide the brain with any new information…. The moment we bring attention to our movement, any movement, research shows that the brain resumes growing new...
Simple Ideas for Soothing Self-Care
Self-care can be short and sweet, simple and cheap. Check out my list of 30 ideas for self-care, plus additional resources!
When Life Gives You Lemons…
We’ve all heard it… “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!” But you don’t HAVE to make lemonade. You can just BE WITH the lemons. Let me explain…
How Mindfulness Changes Your Life
Everyone I know who practices mindfulness describes it as life-changing. Here’s why.
Mindful Breathing Meditation
Mindful breathing is a powerful beginning mindfulness practice. Learn why mind-body exercises almost always begin with the breath, AND download an 8-minute meditation!
Well-Worn Paths: 5 Ways to Disable Your Autopilot
The well-worn path to the garden Buddha We've gotten A LOT of snow here in the last few weeks. So much so that it's been difficult for my little pups to navigate their way around the backyard. At first, they were almost up to their heads in snow. But eventually they...
20 Quotes About Mindfulness for People Who Struggle With Being Mindful
Struggling with meditation? Get some inspirational words of wisdom in these quotes about mindfulness for people who struggle with mindfulness!