I stop myself from writing posts like these because in the act of writing them, I judge myself for whatever I might say. I second guess my words. I dismiss them. I think I should edit it, and then edit it a whole bunch of times more, and I think about how after I have…
Category: change is good
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Snapshot: Children Meditating
The other day, I decided I wanted to get all three of my children started with a regular meditation practice. They’ve all had the opportunity to try it, but haven’t done so regularly. My motivation is primarily to give them a practice they can turn to when they need to deal with the stresses of…
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Plugged in and disengaged
![[image description: close up of a hand holding a smart phone]](https://www.munkymind.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Plugged-in.jpg)
I should write this post on a typewriter. I’d even be satisfied with the word processor I had back in high school, an awe-inspiring machine which had this tiny screen that showed two or three lines of text that you could EDIT. I mean right there on that minuscule screen, you could edit it. Without…
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I laughed at my thinning hair
![[image description: photo of J. Parrish Lewis, cropped so that only top half of head is available. Light-skinned, dark hair that is thinning. Photo has been altered to be a monochromatic blue tint.]](https://www.munkymind.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/hair.jpg)
I’m serious. I looked in the mirror and I saw, for the thousandth time, the stealthy retreat of my hairline and the patch of thinning hair that spoke this message to me: You are getting older, J. For years, I noticed the gradual change in my hairline with a bit of dread. It didn’t matter…
Strictly out of curiosity, I decided I’d make two grocery shopping trips today and figure out how much money I’d save if I go to WinCo, which is known for being cheaper, versus going to Save Mart. I’m going to be honest. I don’t like WinCo’s produce section. It’s large, yes, but I find the…
If you’re a human being, you’ve got habits. Actually, if you’re a living creature, you’ve got habits. I’m not sure that non-living creatures have habits, unless you want to call a rock’s sitting there on the ground as the rock’s habit and water flowing in a river as the water’s habit. Wait, let me rein…
Here’s the good news: change is possible. In 2015, I managed to kick my 20+ year addiction to sweet sweet coffee. Frappuchinos, mochas, or “coffees” that were more sugary creamer than coffee. I still have them, sometimes, but barely. This year, I’ll probably try to stop altogether since I want to do with sugar what…
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Mental detox
You know how people go through a detox phase when they start eating healthy? It can be kinda unpleasant, right? I’m thinking that there is clearly the mental equivalent of a detox like that. The reason I’m thinking this is that I’ve spent the last two decades slowly becoming more stressed. I go to bed…
I spent the last 8 weeks, give a day or two, rebooting my food choices by going crazy strict about everything. I gave up sugar. I gave up flour. I gave up dairy. I started to reduce oil, but ended up having more. I went nuts with boredom. I started feeling overwhelmed with what felt…