{image via pinterest} 

Of all the gifts my husband I could give each other this holiday season, we agreed that putting away our cell phones might be the most valuable one.

Let me tell you, one constantly connected, slightly workaholic to another (oh, is that not you also?), putting that thing away is tough stuff! But I made a commitment to no cell phones at meals about a month ago, determined to break the habit by the holiday. And while I find myself biting my lip at times wanting to google a random question I just thought of about Israel and Hamas or Christina Aguilera’s hair, or wanting to reply to just one more email, it’s getting easier.

The holidays can be one of the most difficult times to practice being more present, our attention being pulled in a thousand different directions. From Thanksgiving menus to Black Friday deals to work holiday parties to cookie competitions to festivals to wrapping to travel, we often come as unraveled as the ribbon in the bottom of our gift wrapping supply box.

We end up moving from one event to the next with a holiday smile plastered on our face, belying the overwhelm we feel underneath. And in the midst of the madness, we lose sight of the true joy and peace that the season can bring. 

In the spirit of all that is merry and bright, here are five simple ways to practice mindfulness this holiday season.

1. Sip your peppermint mocha mindfully. With the deluge of savory and sweet treats around the holidays, it’s easy to start engaging in mindless eating or overeating. Our office staff room always quickly fills up with goodies starting around Halloween, and by New Years most of us couldn’t tell you the difference between a macaroon and meatball. With all of the amazing dishes, it’s a great time to practice eating mindfully by taking one slow, delicious bite at a time. See this primer for how.
2. Take a walk in the winter wonderland. For people who struggle to sit and chant “om” for an hour, a walking mediation is often a great way to connect with the present and develop a sense of peace. Try taking a quiet walk (leave the iPod at home) and observing the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors.
3. Start a gratitude practice. The holidays can pull for us to get caught in the past, longing for people, places, and traditions long lost, and in the future, longing for more (more attractiveness, more friends, more stuff). What’s goes missing then is appreciation for the present. The holidays are a wonderful time to start a gratitude practice, whether that involves daily recitation, journaling, or some other creative endeavor.
4. Make a holiday craft. Creating something beautiful around the holidays is a great way to engage your attention and senses, and can serve double duty as a low-cost gift for your great aunt! Check out Pinterest for awesome ideas.
5. Hang your stockings with care. Try turning holiday decorating into a mindfulness practice by taking the time to notice the details in each decoration. Observe the way that each ornament reflects the twinkling lights and the smell of mothballs pulling out the stuffed snowman. Notice the way the flames on the menorah candles dance and the sound of the rustling leaves on the wreath as the door opens and closes. You can even turn this into a game, challenging yourself to make at least ten observations for each of the five senses.

However you celebrate the magic of the holidays, I wish you many mindful moments!

{image via pinterest}

There’s so much amazing stuff going on around here at NTS, sometimes it’s hard for me to wrap my head around it all! I’ve been feeling so blessed to be launching some great, and hopefully inspiring, new things like the Start Write Now Series and (hint! hint!) soon the 2012 Nourishing Body Image Awards.

My mind hasn’t stopped though, and I want to introduce you to another new series that is kicking off right now. It’s called If You Really Knew Me.

Here’s what it’s all about: It’s a series of guest posts in which contributors share a personal story or aspect of their lives with NTS readers. It’s a double opportunity; a chance for the writer to share something true and real about themselves that perhaps they don’t find themselves talking about openly and a chance for us as readers to bear witness to another’s narrative and expand our own sense of understanding and empathy.

What it really comes down to is sharing our truths, and giving readers a forum to do so. There’s nothing that I love more than being honored with the opportunity to hear someone else’s journey (hence the whole therapist thing, I guess), and I think many of you can and will relate. We can learn so much from connecting with one another in this way.

If You Really Knew Me is about stepping out of the shadows and reclaiming your voice through narrative. Should you choose to participate, you can write your post in any way that you choose. You can write a list, a story, or just wax poetic about something important in your life. It can be about overcoming self-hatred, coming out, feeling jealous of your sister, struggling to get pregnant, being secretly bankrupt — whatever you want the world to know more about. The only requirement is that your post is honest and heartfelt and answers: If you really knew me, you would know… 

You do not have to share your name or any identifying information. You also don’t have to be a blogger. Simply drop me an email including your submission at nourishingthesoulblog [at] gmail [dot] com and let me know what (if anything) you want shared about your identity. I do reserve the right to not publish any post that is I feel could be harmful to readers. All that said, I will be so honored to read your truth. I hope that you will share it.

Okay, so I’m a little late to the party. But hey, I like to make a statement, so it’s cool.

If you’ve been an avid follower of the self-love mecca, Medicinal Marzipan, (and why wouldn’t you be?), you may already know about the cool renovation project over there. Mara has done more than added a fresh coat of paint – she’s totally revamped her space and launched a stunning new site – MaraGlatzel.com – that is as resourceful as it is beautiful.

One of the coolest things about the whole she-bang is that Mara launched a fantastic new e-book along with the site. It’s called Body Loving Homework and it’s a collection of writing prompts that inspire you to create your own personal narrative. My professional, personal, and every other kind of opinion is that writing is one of the most powerful tools we have to access our truest selves (which was the basis for the Self-Discovery, Word by Word project and is also why I kicked off the Start Write Now series recently).

A collection of writing prompts sounds a little boring, and Body Loving Homework is anything but. Consider it your jump start to digging into the most important material in the world – what’s already inside of you. It’s an invitation (and roadmap) to incredible self-discovery. It covers topics from your emotional body to sex and intimacy to unraveling a media-fueled education (awe-some). Not only that, but it’s absolutely gorgeous. No, really. You have to see for yourself to know what I mean. So consider this your kick in the butt to check it out.

Have you come across any great self-love tools lately? Been writing as a means of self-discovery? Do share!

{image credit :: thebookofsecrets.tumblr.com}

The term addicted gets thrown around a lot, probably far more often than it should. I am a big advocate for carefully selecting words, because they are the building blocks for our realities, and so when people say they are addicted to Giuliana and Bill or strawberry milkshakes, I get annoyed.

But when it comes to the idea of distraction, I think many of us are truly addicted. In fact, I would suggest that we have a cultural addiction going on. Hear me out.

First of all, I can write this post honestly because I am a total player in the game.

Hello. My name is Ashley. I’m addicted to activity.

I’m not talking about ADHD or just how busy we all are in our world, though I’m certain that those issues contribute to our problem. No, I’m talking about the fact that I look around the train on any given morning and every single pair of eyes is glued to an iPad or Blackberry. Crossing a busy street, people are texting. We watch movies with our laptops on our bellies, totally unaware of the plot. We eat at the refrigerator as we plan our Monday. We chat on the phone at the spa. We can’t even use the bathroom without a form of distraction!

It’s enough to make you want to scream, “Enough already. Turn it off!”

It makes me wonder, what’s so threatening about quiet? What’s wrong with stillness?

My guess is that it frightens us. To turn off the distraction means we actually have to sit with ourselves – our true selves. Stillness gives us the space to be with our own thoughts, to connect with our own emotions. And for some of us, that’s scary stuff.

For some, it’s the fear of being disconnected from others. The thought that things could be going on, that someone could be reaching out, and that I might not be available? Well, that’s terrifying for individuals who use that connection as a means of feeling whole. Without it, they suddenly feel incredibly isolated. It’s the irony of our generation – all of this incredible technology, built for us to connect, has left us often feeling even more alone.

For others, it’s the fear of feeling unaccomplished. If I’m not engaged in a task, how can I be productive? And, by extension, if I’m not productive, who am I? Do I matter? Granted, we aren’t asking ourselves these questions directly. But I believe that they are lingering beneath the surface.

And for still others, their own thoughts and feelings prove too distressing to bear. If they’re not enveloped in the hustle and bustle, then perhaps they would be able to experience the loneliness that they’ve been trying so hard to keep at bay. Or perhaps the frustration with a job that’s going nowhere. Or the fear that their partner is going to pack it in. Whatever the emotion, as a culture we are not particularly adept at feeling it. And so we busy ourselves with everything we can imagine to forestall it.

But stillness, on the other hand, it allows for the sense of deep and true connection. It allows us to listen. It allows for the full expression of our own experience. And it allows for us to feel whole, without the focus on the external.

Stillness is heavily underrated, and it’s time that we changed that. To be still doesn’t mean that one is unproductive or a hippie. It means that we are allowing ourselves the opportunity to be, the fundamental function of human beings.

Let’s hear you’re favorite ways to cultivate stillness in your life. I’ll start –

Coloring mandalas helps me to refocus my intention and energy and to just be present.

Your turn!