#BeWellCCESC Newsletter
January 2020
A Focus on Mindfulness
The CCESC Wellness Committee has been meeting periodically to develop a program for all employees to utilize. Based on a staff survey completed in October 2019, employees indicated that mindfulness was among the top three interest areas related to wellness. This newsletter focuses on connecting you to resources about mindfulness. We hope that you'll read through for your personal benefit and for those around you - students, colleagues, friends and family. #BeWellCCESC
Keepin' it Real
For some, mindfulness is a new concept to be explored. It doesn't have to be a daily practice or expensive. You can simply practice mindfulness on a walk while enjoying nature. You can also practice mindful eating while you savor the food you eat at any meal. Just open your mind to the possibilities.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens.
Mindfulness also involves acceptance, meaning that we pay attention to our thoughts and feelings without judging them—without believing, for instance, that there’s a “right” or “wrong” way to think or feel in a given moment. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future.
Though it has its roots in Buddhist meditation, a secular practice of mindfulness has entered the American mainstream in recent years, in part through the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn and his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, which he launched at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979. Since that time, thousands of studies have documented the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness in general and MBSR in particular, inspiring countless programs to adapt the MBSR model for schools, prisons, hospitals, veterans centers, and beyond.
Source: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition
Mindfulness Quiz
Source: Cardaciotto, L., Herbert, J. D., Forman, E. M., Moitra, E., & Farrow, V. (2008). “The Assessment of Present-Moment Awareness and Acceptance: The Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale.” Assessment, 15 (2), 204-223.
SUGGESTED READING
The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon
"This book is about how powerful positive thinking can be in people's livest talks about how powerful positive thinking can be in people's lives."
-Elizabeth Racobaldo
The 60 Seconds Fix: The Brain Changing Toolkit That Stops Unwanted Habits and Starts Surprising Joy by Regalena Melrose, Ph.D.
"I've observed the positive effects of this simple practice. Read it and give it a try."
-Lori Perlow
Finding a Joyful Life in the Heart of Pain by Darlene Cohen
"This book is about the author's search to find happiness and fulfillment through meditation as she deals with the stress of a very painful illness."
-Kathleen Richter
INTERESTING ARTICLES
This e-newsletter is joyfully prepared by the CCESC Wellness Committee for our colleagues.
#BeWellCCESC Committee
Kris Farnoly, Marc Mucci, Lori Perlow, Elizabeth Racobaldo, Kathleen Richter, Patricia Russo
Contact Us
Email: LPerlow@camdenesc.org
Website: camdenesc.org
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Phone: 856-784-2100
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