Meditation is the practice of doing nothing, but the skills it builds can have important benefits when you bring them into your life and work. These posts feature stories, ideas, and practices to help you envision the practical benefits that mindfulness can offer to you off the cushion and in the world.
Self-Compassion Can Make Weight Loss Less Painful
This post explains the value and benefits of employing self-compassion to craft a plan for healthy weight loss. Self-compassion is associate with goal attainment and grit in handling setbacks. Learn how it helped our founder manage her weight without beating herself up.
How to Meditate When You’re Too Busy to Breathe
A blog post with 5 tips that may help you continue a meditation habit even when your life is very busy.
How to Manage Anxiety about Public Speaking
A post sharing tips about how mindfulness and self-compassion practices can help calm anxiety about public speaking.
How to Become a Thought Leader When You Have No Followers
This post shares a Ted-style talk I gave about thought leadership for the FDCC. It traces how my meditation practice helped me start writing and how that improved my life and law practice.
How to Train Your Mind While Training Your Heart
A blog post exploring some informal practices to incorporate mindfulness and compassion into your physical exercise routine.
1 Simple Thing You Can Do to Promote Mental Health
This post shares information about three training programs to help individuals respond to mental health challenges in in their communities, families, and workplaces.
Reading for Reflection on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
A post collecting past blog posts on the topics of mindfulness and racial justice, social change, and courageous action.
How Mindfulness Helped Me Discover My Word of the Year
A post explaining a process for identifying a word or theme of the year using mindfulness as a guide.
I’m Skeptical of Resolutions but Love New Year’s Reflections
A post explaining why we set resolutions in January and why reflections are important to personal growth.
If You Are Thinking about Dry January, You’ll Love This
A blog post sharing resources to help anyone considering or trying Dry January.
Don’t Let a Crappy Year Ruin Your Happy Holidays
A blog post with tips about enjoying the holidays even if the rest of the year left you feeling like a Grinch.
How Mindfulness Can Help Lawyers Make Social Change
An interview with Christopher Punongbayan, the Executive Director of California ChangeLawyers and yoga teacher, about mindfulness and social change.
Mindfulness Can Make Litigation Suck a Little Bit Less: New Podcast Interview
A blog post sharing an interview of founder, Claire E. Parsons, on the Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Podcast.
3 Ways Mindfulness Can Help in Troubled Times
Have you ever had doubts about meditation practice in the midst of troubled time? If so, you aren’t alone. In this post, we share some thoughts to help you get clarity on the issue for yourself.
Trick or Treat: Why the Scary Concept Not-Self May Offer Lawyers Freedom
A blog post explaining the concept not-self, what it offers, and ways to get started exploring it in mindfulness practice.
Lawyers Need to Drop the Shame and Blame Routine
How lawyers can avoid shame and blame with opposing counsel for better relationships, results, and mental health.
Writing About Your Darkest Moments Feels So Damn Good
A blog post exploring why writing can be a transformative mental health practice.
Zen in the Art of Yard Maintenance
A blog post discussing the mental and physical health benefits of getting outside.
Fear and Loathing on Family Vacations and How Mindfulness Can Help
A blog post which discusses the challenges of traveling with family for vacation but explores how mindfulness practices can help.
When It Comes to Mindfulness for Lawyers, Self-Discipline Is Overrated
A blog post that explains why lawyers may rely too much on self-discipline in mindfulness practice and tips for learning a new way to practice.
What Does Lawyer Well-Being Mean? For Me, It’s a Process.
A blog post with a mindfulness-based framework on personal well-being for lawyers and professionals.
The Story Behind My First Children’s Book
A blog post sharing the story behind the founder’s new children’s book, Mommy Needs a Minute.
3 Ways Mindfulness Can Help Lawyers Prepare a Witness Who Is Afraid to Testify
A post with three tips for lawyers to calm a nervous witness in order to prepare them to testify in a litigation matter.
Why I Feel Good about Turning 40
A brief reflection about the good parts about turning 40 and how mindfulness can help you to relax as life changes.
What Is Confidence Really and How Can Mindfulness and Compassion Support It?
A post sharing our founder’s guest post about confidence and mindfulness for Attorney at Law magazine.
1,000 DAYS, A MILLION REASONS & A MILLION WAYS: Saying Goodbye to Alcohol
A guest post from an attorney who quit drinking 1000 days ago with advice and strategies that helped do it.
Can You Be Enough and Still Want More? Celebrating 100 Posts and 2 Years
We are celebrating our 100th post and second anniversary while trying to answer the question whether long-term goals and “being enough” are antithetical. Hint: we don’t think so.
Tortured No More: How Drinking Less Alcohol Helped Me Write My First Book
Our culture has this trope of the long-suffering tortured artist. There’s this idea that creativity comes from strife and is fueled by addiction and misery. I don’t say things like this often, but I want that idea to die. First, it’s not true. Sure, there are many wonderful artists who struggled with or even lost…
Real Talk About the Study Finding Meditation as Effective as Medication to Treat Anxiety
In the last 2 weeks, several contacts have reached out when they read news reports about a study which suggests meditation could be as effective to treat anxiety as medication. Due to my own life experience, I was not surprised when I read the report. Actually, my reaction was closer to relief. After all, I…
How to Change Law Firms Without Losing Your Soul
After almost 14 years with my former firm, I made a change to a new firm this May. As excited as I was by the new opportunity, it was a hard process. There were many thoughts swirling in my mind and there was a ton of emotion. My reasons for making the change will remain…
What Does It Mean to Be a Human Lawyer?
This month, I decided to write on the theme of “humanity in the legal profession.” When I settled on this theme, it seemed at first like an easy concept to impart. But, as I sometimes realize when I sit down to write a brief, the writing process quickly reveals the gaps in my understanding. There…
Meditation Is Not a Time Suck; It’s a Time Saver
I never ask anyone to explain themselves to me when it comes to meditation. Even so, I give talks about mindfulness a lot and people tend to volunteer why it can’t/won’t work for them. I never mind this because it’s an opportunity for both of us to learn something. The number one reason that people,…
PSA: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Is Now Available
Today is an important day in the United States, we now have a national, dedicated hotline for individuals to call for mental health emergencies. In the case of fire, severe physical injury, or crime, most of us wouldn’t hesitate to say “call 911.” Mental health situations may be different, however, and may require a response…
5 Steps to Help Lawyers Handle Hopelessness
There is a lot going on in the world right now, but if you are a lawyer in the United States the term “a lot” doesn’t quite cover it. It’s not just that major and devastating events are happening. It’s that the conflict surrounding each event may call into question the legal system in which…
How My Long-Term Goal of Writing a Book Became a Reality
I have been quiet on the blog for the last few months, but I promise I have some pretty good excuses. One reason for the break is that, after several years with the same firm, I decided to transition to a new firm. Though I am thrilled with the new role and looking forward to…
How Do You Know Which Inner Voice to Follow?
Recently, I came to a startling recognition: I have a somewhat inconsistent view about life choices. On the one hand, I have railed against succumbing to the voice in one’s head so many times that I cannot account for them all. Yet, on the other, I have also said that my life transformed and became…
Four Reasons Why I Don’t Like the Term “Imposter Syndrome”
It’s no secret that I am a self-doubter. I have struggled with it since I was a kid and, despite all my mindfulness training, I don’t think it’s ever going to go away. Doubt, it seems, is a part of my personality. So, you might be surprised to know that I don’t really like the…
Sending Loving-Kindness to Opposing Counsel Can Make You a Better Litigator
If I had to pick one style of meditation to recommend for lawyers, it would be loving-kindness practice. When I present seminars on mindfulness, I take any opportunity I get to talk about the practice or share it in a guided meditation. Loving-kindness meditation became my lifeline early in my law practice when I was…
4 Steps to Help Lawyers Handle Shame Triggers from Opposing Counsel
Though most of the attorneys I have litigated cases against are wonderful people who only want to represent their clients well, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that some just like to play games. They don’t want to turn over documents that are clearly relevant. They don’t want to think practically when evaluating a…
6 Practical Steps to Support Yourself During Dry January or 300/65
This week, you may be one of many people trying Dry January for the first time. You may even have your sights set on the longer-term goal of 300/65, which limits drinking days to 65 for the year. Last year, I wrote about my experience trying Dry January for the first time and was surprised…
What I Learned from Writing about Mindfulness for a Year
Today is an auspicious day for me. It is the one-year anniversary of the founding of this blog. Clearly, blogging is not a novel idea. There are tons of blogs across the internet. And, even for lawyers, side hustles are not super rare. So, why is this a big deal? I love writing and it…
Abundance Is Something You Can Create
This week is Thanksgiving, so it may not be all that surprising that I have the idea of “abundance” on my mind. As someone who loves to cook (and eat), Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. When I was a kid, Thanksgiving meant cooking all day for my mom’s large family and then eating…
Cooking Is My Antidote to Languishing
I did not know that “languishing” had a clinical meaning until I listened to Adam Grant’s interview on the Ten Percent Happier podcast the other day. According to Grant, it’s the state between wellness and depression. As a busy lawyer and mom, I immediately recognized this description. As Grant put it, it’s a state where…
How Mindfulness Helped Me Savor the Final Days of Summer
Even though it’s still hot outside, the days are starting to get a little shorter, kids are going back to school, and the stores are filling up with Halloween decorations. The signs are all around – summer is winding down. The sense of summer ending and the change it brings can bring anxiety and even…
Five Lessons Power Zone Training Taught Me About Meditation
It’s a running joke that Peloton users like to tell everyone about how much they love their bike, but there’s a subset of Peloton users who are even more intense about this: the Power Zone Pack. As a member of the Power Zone Pack, I cannot help myself from commandeering what should be a post…
How My First Residential Meditation Retreat Freed Me from Self-Doubt
Full disclosure: this title is a bit of a lie. It’s mostly true. My first residential retreat forced me to turn and face my self-doubt, when I had previously run, hid, and thus, found myself controlled by it, for most of my life. That created an opening in my awareness and the result was a…
Rethinking Self-Care: It’s a Practice
I used to roll my eyes every time I saw an article with “self-care” in the title. I was always ready with a snarky comment about the consumerism of the wellness industry and how it’s only for entitled women with endless time and money. I mean, Gwyneth Paltrow may have an entire evening to devote…
Litigating a Big Case Terrified Me, but Left Me Feeling Like a Badass
Every so often, there are cases that come along that test your limits as an attorney. Maybe they are high profile. Maybe they come from an area of law that is outside of your comfort zone. Or maybe the result in the case could have huge consequences for your client or community. Earlier this year,…
Self-Compassion Is the Path Out of Mom Guilt and Into a Better World
“Am I a bad mom . . . ” I cannot tell you how many times I have sent texts starting with this phrase to friends when life feels like a mess. I’ve seen countless posts in Facebook moms groups that start this way too. These questions about one’s quality as a mother may finish…
Stop The Shame Loop and Let the Process of Habit Change Unfold
I’ve never considered myself a very disciplined person. Let’s just say I’ve never met a french fry I didn’t eat, I hit the snooze button easily, and I’m always the one around the office you can count on to say yes to the impromptu lunch (abandoning the lunch I packed). Even with an established meditation…
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