The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus Into Your Life

A parent’s behavior goes a long way toward manifesting a sense of what works and what doesn’t in a child’s mind. Actions definitely speak louder than words. When I have a difficult day with work, if I feel the experience will help my kids see how I coped with a situation, I will pass it on when I feel they are ripe for the knowledge. If I am under

Keeping the impartial observer perspective is what I would work on as if I were watching a friend go through this and I was counseling them. Staying aware that I had a choice in how I would react to the feelings was what I strived for. Not falling victim to a conditioned response of my personality was my goal. I wanted to consciously make a habit o

Kids basically want a sense of security, lots of free time and experiences that are fun and free from stress. Are adults any different in this regard?

by turning on the anxiety machine and protesting the injustice of it all. This is when the fun begins.

I make my goal staying in the process of practicing DOC and being aware enough of internal dialogue to have a chance to use it. You should also remember that when you start engaging your conscious “will” in how you handle difficult situations, you have to take it in short intervals, at least in the beginning. Otherwise you get too

I told her that it might seem hard to believe, but that the feelings she was experiencing right then were just emotions and that they would pass. I also told her, “If at the end of that time you still feel that you really have to have a pogo stick like hers, I will buy you one for executing the patience.”

and you can’t argue with their technique because, for many years, they dominated the sport. However, go to any of our sporting events and nobody is having any fun unless they are winning. That is what we focus on. Our minds are reeling with judgments about where we are in the competition, and we are experiencing all the emotions that come with all

To me, the reason for working at all that I have been discussing in this book is obvious. It raises my level of control over my life and allows me to choose a path that is filled with more ups than downs. It makes me live in the present and brings happiness and peace in whatever I am doing in that ever-present moment. It makes me both aware that I

If somebody barks at me because they are having a bad day, my inner response is, “This is when the fun begins, let’s go.”